Friday, April 17, 2009 8:05 PM CDT
Third-graders get more screen time at Carl Sandburg after receiving grant
By DAVE FOPAY, Staff Writer
dfopay@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON — Third-graders at Carl Sandburg Elementary School will soon have more computer time and more chances to work with technology on their own.
Grants the school district’s Excellence in Education Foundation awarded at a banquet Thursday evening included $10,000 to Carl Sandburg to buy “mini” computers for the third-grade classes. Lou Conwell, the teacher who wrote the grant application, said the idea is to give the students more control to learn computers and their applications.
“We need more time with students to get them involved in their own learning using computers,” Conwell said.
The grant will let the school buy about 25 computers that will go to all the third-grade classes at Carl Sandburg, and Conwell said the teachers are “very excited” to be able to supplement their students’ computer time.
The “mini” computers are fully functioning units that are about two-thirds the size of a normal laptop, Conwell explained.
“The keyboards are just the right size for (the students’) hands,” she said.
The foundation agreed to fund the project in the category of the larger grants it awards, and applications for the larger grants were “very competitive” this year, foundation President Steve Daniels said. Conwell’s application stood out for several reasons, including the fact that it will benefit a large number of students, he said.
“It covers the entire third grade,” Daniels said. “it was a very interesting and exciting topic.”
Conwell said she plans to have the new computers by the start of the next school year.
The foundation awarded about $20,000 in grants this year, Daniels said, slightly less than in the past, mostly because of the state of the economy. He said the foundation was grateful for Consolidated Communications’ Earning for Learning program, which supplies the foundation with most of its funding.
“We appreciate their support,” he said. “It’s helped all the school district.
The other grant applications the foundation approved were from:
- Kim Southworth, science teacher at Charleston Middle School, $2,000 for tools to help students learn and solve problems by teaming with science students around the world.
- Patti Murphy, librarian at Jefferson Elementary School, $1,987 for a SMART Board for the Jefferson library for use in reading, language arts and information.
- Brenda Foster, language arts teacher at CMS, $1,975.29 for books for students and conducting book club-like sessions for discussions.
- Tim McCollum, science teacher at CMS, $1,964.65 for the purchase of heat-recording devices for temperature investigations.
- Gene Nance and Jennifer Dryden, language arts teachers at CMS, $1,026.87 for laminated desk maps and geography activities.
- Jennifer Thompson, Spanish teacher at Charleston High School, $787.05 for reading materials that will be used in addition to textbooks.
- Tyler Hanner, math coach at CHS, $565.46 for calculators for students to use during state tests and in math classes.
Contact Dave Fopay at dfopay@jg-tc.com or 238-6858.
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