I'm curious, but is a Chromebook useful in offline mode? My family and I have been on sabbatical sailing half the planet so far. Internet has been a big headache as Iridium tops out at 2400bps. And data plans in developing countries and islands can be extremely expensive, up to $1/MB.
I've found our android tablets to be more crashy offline as apps that can't get an internet connection go braindead, blank, or just kick you out. Based on my Android experience I've been reluctant to get a chromebook even though I know they are popular in schools.
As a parent I'm also concerned about the privacy aspects. I believe schools get a special Chromebook that cuts back on the tracking, does this hold true for their retail models?
But if you are a bit confident in your Linux skills, then I would recommend looking into Crouton [1], which allows you to easily access a fully functional Linux. I'm not sure what you're after, but this is what I use, and it satisfies all my needs. [I mean, it's just a Linux laptop, but that's what I need].