 By JCC Staff - GUILFORD - A partnership between Guilford of Maine and SAD#4 was recognized September 06, 2000 at Piscataquis Middle School in Guilford by Governor Angus King.
This all began with Guilford of Maine staff attending a conference in 1999 at Colby Leadership Institute learning how to find ways for big industry to give back to their local communities. Upon careful consideration, home-based Guilford of Maine approached the recently retired Superintendent Norman Higgins to see how they could best help the school district become a leader in computer literacy. "We always have a concern about what's going on in the school system. The residents of Guilford are our employees, and their children are our future employees," said Mary Alyce Higgins (no relation to Supt. Higgins) who is vice president of human resources at Interface Fabrics Group (Guilford of Maine). Supt. Higgins worked with the school staff and it was decided that expanding the existing laptop computer program that serves grades 5 thru 8 in SAD#4 was the best way to achieve the goal. Higgins then brought the proposal to the SAD#4 School Board who voted unanimously to accept Guilford of Maine's generous offer of two $50,000 gifts, matched by state, local and other private funds which provides each student with a brand new Apple iBook computer. The machines will be used daily in the school, carried from class to class and left in the building when the students go home in the afternoon. These computers will remain the property of the middle school, and will be handed down to next year's eighth graders. Funding from Guilford of Maine has also paid for extensive teacher training, for curriculum redesign to make optimal use of the new resource, and for a team of Apple Computer reps to come to Guilford for most of last week to set things up. The dedication of the PCMS teaching staff has been instrumental in making this project a success. This project would make some local businesses envious in its use of wireless computer technology. The newest, state of the art technology now used by PCMS students will better prepare them for future careers whether it be in the factory setting or corporate America. Governor King arrived at PCMS at 10 AM in Guilford this morning, accompanied by State Representative Earl Richardson and Senator Paul Davis. Also in attendance were retired Superintendent Norman Higgins, interim Superintendent Mike Cyr, Guilford of Maine representatives, representatives from SEED, three Apple Computer Reps, SAD#4 School Board members, PCMS teaching staff and students. TV, radio and newspaper reporters were also covering this "one-of-a-kind" event. Although the Governor has his own plan to institute computer laptops in the 7th grade throughout the State of Maine, this is NOT a part of that program. This is a partnership with SAD#4 and Guilford of Maine and is hoped to be a catalyst in the computer education of SAD#4 PCMS students. Mary Alyce Higgins says Guilford of Maine's interest in supporting technology in the school is consistent with its business concerns. "Our equipment is state-of-the-art," she says of the textile operation. "Every one of our employees needs to know and understand computers; we need people who are comfortable in that environment." The company encourages workers from all departments to upgrade their educations and provides full tuition reimbursement for any related coursework. Guilford of Maine employees have been among the most frequent users of the high school's computer labs for taking college-level classes.
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