Last year, we decided to try something new. We digitized our required forms (using ParentVUE) and encouraged parents to use our online payment system (LINQ Connect) for tech fees. One question that we received a few times when we made this transition is, “Why do we need to ‘register’ our students if they already attend Win-E-Mac?”
Answer: Because there are a number of forms that we are required to have filled out for every student every school year, not just when your student first starts attending Win-E-Mac. Rather than use a number of different paper forms (which would require a printed name and signature for each one), we simplified the process by putting all the forms into one Online Registration with one digital signature in ParentVUE. If your students are not new, all the information we already have in our system auto-populates into the forms, so all you should need to do is verify it, update it as needed, and proceed to the pages that we need to collect new information for this year (i.e. picture publication permission, internet & device use agreements, etc.)
Device handout will be moved back to Open House for the upcoming school year, which means we will need the internet use agreement and device use agreement acknowledgement boxes to be checked in the Online Registration on ParentVUE (click here for more details) as well as the $30 Tech Fee (required for 6th grade and older) to be paid in LINQ Connect (or in the front office) before devices can be handed out to students at Open House. If the agreements are not done and the tech fee is not paid, we unfortunately cannot hand out devices to your student at Open House, and they will have to wait until the first day of school (or later, if this is not done).
We have required a $30 tech fee for some time now. This is not a tech deposit; this will not be refunded even if students take good care of their devices, though students should do that anyway. It is a fee that helps cover the ever-rising costs of deploying high-quality devices 1:1 to students at Win-E-Mac School, something that we are very proud to do. New for the 2025–2026 school year is device insurance. Our current fleet of Windows devices (deployed to grades 10-12) are now outside of their accidental warranty. The new fleet of Chromebooks (deployed to grades 7-9) and last year’s new iPads (deployed to grades PreK-6, though only the oldest grades have permission to take them home) were purchased without accidental warranties.
This means that, when devices break due to misuse or mishandling by the student, the cost is borne by the family, not by a warranty. Costs to repair devices are also ever-increasing. Having to replace a cracked screen or a keyboard due to damage can be more than $100 when parts and labor are considered. For this reason, we have decided to introduce $20 device insurance. While the $30 tech fee is still required, the $20 device insurance is optional but recommended, especially if your student has broken a screen or otherwise damaged a device in the past.
As with any insurance, if it is not purchased and a student damages a device through misuse or mishandling, the full cost to repair (or replace) the device will be charged to the parents.
If you have any questions about the tech fee or the device insurance, please speak with the technology department. All payments can be made in the Win-E-Mac front office or online.