GENTRY -- The Gentry School District was awarded an EAST Lab for the 2015-2016 school year, according to information reported to the school board May 18 by assistant superintendent Judy Winslett.
According to Winslett, the district applied to be a part of the Environmental and Spatial Technologies Initiative and was the first among applicants to receive word on May 5 that it would be awarded an EAST lab. A team from EAST Initiative visited the high school on April 24, she said.
As a result, the school district will be receiving about $100,000 to $125,000 worth of technology and equipment; and Patrick Lanford, high school Spanish and sociology teacher and a leader at the high school in using Internet technology to create a paperless classroom, was appointed to be the EAST Initiative facilitator at the high school.
The EAST program's project-based learning model enables students to learn to use some of the latest technology to accomplish projects for the school and community. Among technology made available through EAST grants are geographic informations systems, computer animation programs, computer modeling software, video editing software, global positioning systems and computer-aided design software.
According to Winslett, student interest in the high school and middle school was so high that she expected all available slots to be filled for next year and hoped to have the program in following school years as well.
The program allows student teams to choose their own community projects and then work together, using the technology made available to them to complete their projects.
The EAST Initiative began as the result of the efforts of Tim Stephenson, a former law-enforcement officer turned teacher in Greenbrier, to provide the needed technology to give students hands-on experience with projects and technology which would enable them to learn and apply knowledge and skills the students weren't learning through more traditional methods of education.
His students first built a bridge in a wooded area near the school and then other structures, using the CAD program and expertise of one of the student's father. Seeing the need for technology in the classrooms to enable students to learn and apply skills, Stephenson built up a partnership with businesses and technology companies to provide the technology needed in the classrooms to enable students to learn through hands-on experience.
Student teams are given the opportunity to show their projects each spring at the annual EAST Partnership conference, have their projects judged and receive awards.
The EAST Initiative fits well with the school district's new goal of partnering with business and industry to better prepare students to obtain quality jobs upon graduation from high school, whether or not they choose to pursue a college education.
According to Winslett, the technology and equipment would arrive sometime in July and be installed and ready for fall classes.
General News on 05/27/2015