SAD 4 wins $300,000 Technology Grant
By Diana Bowley, Of
the NEWS Staff
Re-printed with permission of the
Bangor Daily News
SAD 4 took another giant step forward this week in its
efforts to remain on the cutting edge of technology in the state with the announcement
of a sizable grant to bring computers into the high school and the home,
creating a virtual community.
With the use of a $300,000 Innovative
and Advanced Technology state grant, district officials envision a community
where poorer families can have the same technology for their children as wealthier
families do; where adults who have no children can access the technology through
local public libraries where wireless networks will be installed; where increased
learning opportunities can be offered to improve the marketable skill capacity
of the region, and where high school students eventually will each have their
own laptop.
SAD 4 has developed a track record
for piloting technology projects in the state before implementation at other
sites. It was one of the first districts in the state to offer Interactive
Television through the
This latest grant, awarded to the district as part of a consortium including
the Guilford Memorial Library, Sangerville Public Library, Parkman Library, and the Piscataquis
County Economic Development Council, is expected to take that level of awareness
further starting in the fall.
Innovative and Advanced Technology grants also were awarded to SAD 59, which
got $81,858; and the Maine State Library, which received $120,000. As proposed
in SAD 4's application, which was the highest rated of seven final proposals,
the funds will provide 100 computers to Piscataquis Community High School
students, 25 computers for teachers and about 10 computers to local public
libraries. The funds also will be used for networking and for staff development.
The actual price tag for the proposal is $533,000, but school officials plan
to use other state, federal and local grants, as well as about $94,000 in
district funds to complete the project.
"This was just an incredible opportunity to expand a very successful teaching
initiative to the secondary level and adult education," SAD 4 Superintendent
Matthew Oliver said Friday. "This will raise the level of technology awareness
and proficiency throughout our entire district and will provide some continuity
from one level to the next."
SAD 4 includes the towns of
It helped that the district
already has a track record in computer technology for taking a lead in King's
middle school laptop program, according to Crystal Priest, SAD 4 Technology
Integration Specialist. The school was the first in the state to provide
laptops for each seventh- and eighth-grade pupil, thanks to district funds that
were matched by Guilford of Maine, a local textile manufacturer. "We have a
history and the history shows it works," she said.
Priest also thinks the district's isolation and low per capita income helped
play a role in the grant award. She said the project will develop an electronic
assessment system that will allow the evaluation of an individual's skills
and needs as well as provide demographic data about the education and capabilities
of the area's work force. Priest said it is hoped that the K-12 portion of
the assessment system will become part of the comprehensive assessment system
as required by the Maine Learning Results.
With this grant, eighth-grade
pupils will cease moaning that the technological advances they received in
middle school will end when they enter high school, where there are only 55
desktop computers available for student use. The additional computers the grant
will purchase will mean there will be one computer for every three high school
students. School officials hope that one day, all high
school students will have their own computers while enrolled in school.
Unlike the middle school program, the high school laptop program will extend
beyond the regular school day, Priest said. Students will be allowed to take
their laptops home so family members can learn the latest in technology. "We
feel there was a big need to get these machines out into the community where
anybody could get access to them," she said.
Adults who have neither children
nor a computer at home will be able to sign out a computer from the Sangerville and
On Thursday, a group of educators and administrators including Priest, Oliver
and PCHS Principal Bruce Lindberg plan to visit Brewster Academy, a private
secondary school in Wolfeboro, N.H., to talk with school officials about their
very successful laptop program. Since the academy went online with laptops
for each high school student in 1993, officials have seen an increase in SAT
scores of 92 points, a statistic that intrigues Oliver.
"The key is intense staff development to make that tool come to life and provide
independent learning experiences for all students," Oliver said.
Priest said she hopes that the commingling of library and school staff will
increase opportunities for collaboration. The libraries also will receive
additional funding to provide longer operating hours, and students who take
their laptops home also will be able to have high-speed access at their town
library to the school's network and its resources.
There is much to be worked out
over the summer to ensure the program gets a good start, according to Priest.
That includes a two- or three-day "boot camp" for teachers, completing the
networking for the program, installing the software and hardware and purchasing
the computers.
"I think it's going to be a great opportunity for everybody," Priest said.