S.A.D. #4 Receives $300,000 Grant

Piscataquis Observer

By: Ben Bragdon - Staff Writer

As population falls and manufacturing jobs go elsewhere in rural, isolated Piscataquis County, the prevailing wisdom is that cooperation between its towns and the educational establishments and economic developers in the region will be vital in the preservation of the county.

For the county to grow and prosper, the thinking goes, its institutions must cut across borders, both real and imagined, to form lasting, profitable relationships that allow towns in the area to reap the benefits of scale while maintaining their rural independence.

To that end, SAD 4 has obtained a grant that hopes to benefit people of all ages, in and out of the school system, while linking residents of Guilford, Sangerville, and Parkman through increased access to informational and educational resources.

MTEAF has awarded an Innovative and Advanced Technology Grant for $325,000 to the school district after receiving a request written by Crystal Priest, the Technology Coordinator for SAD 4.

The bulk of the money will be used to purchase 125 laptop computers for use by students at Piscataquis Community High School and in the SAD 4 Adult Education program, as well as in libraries in Guilford and Sangerville. As a result, PCHS will provide equal access to technology for all its students while becoming first high school in Maine to integrate widespread laptop use into its curriculum, according to PCHS principal Bruce Lindberg.

Lindberg says the school will install a wireless network for the laptops, which will give the computers the mobility needed to serve the students in all aspects of their education. According to Lindberg, the laptops will be used to the full of their potential, for everything from research and data-collecting to presentation and word processing.

"It's our intent to use the laptops as a tool for learning, not just as a typewriter. They will be a vital part of our classroom," said Lindberg.

Unlike the laptop program instituted throughout the state on the middle-school level, high school students will be allowed to bring the computers home with them. Families of students will be able to take advantage of technology without taking on the financial burden of a new computer, increasing access and leveling the playing field further.

The benefits of the program extend far beyond the walls of PCHS, however. It will also mean increased accessibility to computers for everyone who lives within the area served by SAD 4. Libraries in Guilford and Sangerville will be outfitted with wireless networks as well. A number of the laptops will be kept in those libraries and will be available for anyone who has completed a laptop training course. Funds from the grant will be used to train library staff and extend operating hours.

The grant has also set aside funds for integrating the laptops into the adult education program. Recent layoffs in the area have increased the need for adult education in SAD 4. And since every student in the SAD 4 Adult Education program must take a computer class, the waiting list for those classes has grown significantly.

The integration of the laptops into schools, libraries and homes will create a ever-widening web of educators and students of all ages and levels of experience.

School personnel will teach students and teachers at PCHS and in Adult Education how to use the computers effective and efficiently. The students will bring the computers home, spreading that knowledge to friends and family. Technological neophytes will be able to gain first-hand experience with the laptops at the library with the help of trained personnel.

As more and more people become fluent in the new technologies that are increasingly invading our everyday lives, the hope is that a population with improved job and communication skills will emerge better equipped to confront together the unique circumstances of the region.

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