Three Derry schools and four Derry Cooperative School District staff members have received 21st-Century Grants to help them integrate technology into the schools in new ways.
Joel Olbricht and Gordon Graham, members of the 21st-Century Learning foundation board, appeared at the Sept. 23 School Board meeting to announce the grants. The grant recipients were also honored by Laura Nelson, Superintendent of Schools, with a plaque.
MaryAnn Connors-Krikorian, assistant superintendent, gave the welcome and thanked the foundation, saying, “It’s a lot of work to put this together, to continue to fund it, and to see what’s out there and is progressive in nature.” Olbricht sketched the history of the grants. They go back to the 1990s, when some community leaders wanted to integrate more “creative technology” into the classroom. They fund-raised and established a $300,000 base, from which they have dispatched grants every year since. “These are for exciting, experimental programs,” Olbricht said.
“We say, ‘Here’s the seed money, let’s see if you can get this to work,” he said.
Graham added that the foundation is a 501:C-3 nonprofit.
He said many of the ideas have been vetted by the School Board and made into regular classroom procedures, built into the budget.
Unit 10, congratulates Jerry Kearns and Laurie Fleming of Gilbert H. Hood Middle School on their receipt of a 21st-Century Learning Grant as Joel Olbricht, a member of the 21st Century Learning Committee, looks on. Photo by Kathleen D. Bailey
District Technology Director Ray Larose introduced the recipients. This year the following three grants were awarded:
• Audrey Allen, Grade 6 Social Studies, West Running Brook Middle School, 12 Nexus tablets, $4,788. Her equipment has come in and, she said, “I’ve been playing with it all week.”
• Claire Scanlon, Art, Derry Village School, iPad, projector and related devices, $1,437.80. Scanlon said she wanted to use the technology to enhance her art program, so children could create their own picture books, use the video function, use the scanner and do research. “The national core art standards include one where children should be able to select, analyze and interpret their work for presentation,” she said.
• Laurie Fleming, nurse and Jeremiah Kearns, guidance counselor, Gilbert H. Hood Middle School, 4 iPad minis and related equipment, $1,850. Kearns said he and Fleming work with students “every hour we are in the building.” While many programs enhance learning in the classroom, Kearns said he and Fleming are often focused on how to get students into the classroom.
“Studies show that 15 to 20 percent of the student population experiences stress and anxiety,” he said. He and Fleming are looking to create a standardized program to use technology to manage children’s stress, he said.
Olbricht noted that this year’s projects are “a nice mix” of art, stress management and social studies.
The program funds initiatives that are not in the regular budget, and Chairman Neal Ochs said, “I thank you from the bottom of my heart. The things you folks do allow us to be innovative.”
