Bentonville teachers earn tech grants

BENTONVILLE -- The School District is adding another half-million dollars worth of electronic devices to its classrooms this year through its 21st Century Technology initiative.

The program has awarded technology grants of $25,000 to more than 100 teachers since it started in 2012. Each grant provides enough laptops for an entire class or, for teachers of kindergarten through second grade, a cart full of iPads.

2015 21st Century Technology grants

The Bentonville School District awarded 21 grants of $25,000 each this year through its 21st Century Technology grant program. Eleven grants went to junior high teachers. Fulbright Junior High and Washington Junior High both had five grant recipients. Apple Glen Elementary, Old High Middle and Bright Field Middle had two each. Nine grants went to literacy teachers.

Source: Staff report

District administrators announced the latest round of grants last month. Seventeen grants went to individual teachers and four went to teams of two teachers each, said Judy Marquess, the district's executive director of instruction for grades seven through 12.

There were 115 applications for the grants this year, a significant increase over previous years, Marquess said.

"The only downside to having a large number of teachers apply is that a large number of teachers are disappointed when they do not receive the grant. I wish we could do more," Marquess said.

Grant applications are evaluated by a team of three administrators in the district's central office along with one elementary principal, one middle school principal and one junior high principal, Marquess said.

The electronic devices help facilitate various forms of project-based learning in the classrooms. Project-based learning emphasizes self-guided learning through assignments that require in-depth research and critical thinking. Teachers serve as facilitators of the process.

This year's grant recipients gathered every day last week at the district's central office for training on how to implement the technology in their classrooms. Each teacher gave a presentation Friday on the kinds of project-based learning assignments they intend to give their students.

Diedra Gauw, a fifth-grade science teacher at Bright Field Middle School, spoke about her plan to have students study invasive species and their effect on the Arkansas ecosystem. Gauw and Stephanie Shinabery, another fifth-grade science teacher, made up one of the teams of teachers that received a single grant.

Gauw said she was inspired to apply for the grant because she realized a need for change in her classroom. The added technology will enhance the learning environment, she said.

"We have to evolve as teachers to stay relevant," Gauw said.

Ann Watson, a literacy teacher at Lincoln Junior High School, also received a grant this year. She has been a strong advocate of project-based learning. Implementing that style of teaching is a learning experience, she told fellow grant recipients on Friday.

"You're going to fail. You're going to mess up," Watson said. "Keep stepping out on that ledge. And it's OK if you fall flat on your face."

Jessica Humphrey, an eighth-grade English teacher at Fulbright Junior High School, received a grant this year in her third attempt applying for one, she said.

When administrators visited her classroom to give her the news, the class was so immersed in a project she had forgotten it was the day those grants were being distributed.

"It was great. It was very much like a pinch-me moment," Humphrey said.

Humphrey, who just finished her fifth year of teaching, experimented with project-based learning twice this past school year. In her second attempt this spring, she assigned students a project based on the question, "If everyone else is doing it, does that mean I should, too?" Her students applied the question to everything from wearing makeup to premarital sex. The results were eye opening, she said.

"Their level of engagement was so high. They teach each other and they teach us," Humphrey said.

She plans to assign the same project next school year, perhaps with some tweaks, she said.

Marquess, who co-guided last week's training sessions with Bentonville High School media specialist Traci Holland, said several previous grant winners visited to talk about the different things they've done with the technology and to give tips on how to manage those devices. The week was phenomenal, she said.

"For someone to give up a whole week during the summer, they're passionate about what they do," Marquess said. "They are serious about learning."

The 21st Century Technology initiative started in 2012 through a partnership between the district and the Bentonville Public Schools Foundation as part of an effort to boost the ratio of electronic devices to students. Most of the money for this year's grants came from the district. The foundation contributed $125,000.

Michael Poore, superintendent, said the district has added 10,000 laptops and tablets to its schools since he started as superintendent four years ago. The administration and board will evaluate the effectiveness of the 21st Century Technology initiative during the next school year, Poore said.

NW News on 06/29/2015

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