ANGIER-- McGee's Elementary School has learned that it will receive a $250,000 federal grant from the North Carolina Electronics and Information Technologies Association (NCEITA) Education Foundation. The award was deemed for a Technology Demonstration Project in a rural or under served school district. Congressman Bob Etheridge will be on hand for the grant kickoff at the school on Tuesday, November 22 at 9 a.m. McGee's Elementary submitted an application for the grant in the Spring. In the documentation, school principal Terry Weakly said, "I dream*.. I dream about the impact for each student attending our school and I dream with our staff on how we can better facilitate productivity, creativity and problem solving skills that are a serious need for our children. As we prepare our young people for the real world beyond this rural community we must provide them with opportunities to experience and solve real world problems in a secure environment that technology affords." Weakly said the grant would directly impact technology instruction in the classroom, where "the classroom teacher and technology teacher would collaborate on ideas, resources and projects to weave technology into the curriculum. The mobile lab used for these collaborations will consist of sixteen wireless laptops, a data projector, and laser printer. The teacher would schedule the mobile lab and the assistance of the technology teachers as needed to teach various objectives as required by the NC Curriculum. Individual assignments and group assignments can be given for independent practice facilitated by the laptops." Wireless carts would provide each grade level with easy access for assistance to complete follow-up instruction or grade level projects. Currently, the school's three wireless carts are shared by five grade levels. The additional carts may be assigned to the Exceptional Children's classrooms, music, art, and PE teachers, and to English as a Second Language (ESL) as a mini lab. The NCEITA Education Foundation's intent, with leadership and support from Congressman Bob Etheridge, Senator Elizabeth Dole and former Senator John Edwards, is to provide a selected elementary school with the technology tools, including hardware, software and professional development, that are necessary to implement an approved technology plan.
