Grant Date: 2011
Total Program Cost: ~$50,000
ACE Grant: 2011
Funding Partners to Date: Andover Rotary Club, Andover Public Schools
The Andover Coalition for Education (ACE) has pledged to fund ten interactive whiteboards in 2010-2011. This will help, but the need is much larger. Each interactive whiteboard, projector, and installation costs $5,000.
WHAT:
The Andover Public Schools (APS) has identified interactive whiteboards for grades 6-12 as a funding priority for its 2011 and beyond technology purchases. The goal is to have an interactive whiteboard in each Andover Public School classroom by 2014.
WHY:
The school administration has recognized that while each of our elementary schools has acquired many of these teaching tools, the middle schools and the high school have few. Andover High School currently has eight white boards, leaving 77 classrooms without one. Between them, our three middle schools have ten, needing 99 more.
The merits of interactive whiteboards are recognized by countless teachers across the country. Many Andover teachers have engaged in professional development training with the equipment yet do not have this instructional tool in their classroom. They anxiously await these extraordinary devices in order to offer more dynamic teaching and learning options for today’s digital learners.
As a community, we must work together to support this important effort. Interactive whiteboards are quickly becoming a mainstream learning device and their future is made more certain by the fact that they are compatible with virtually all next generation ancillary technology such as smart phone’s, and tablets. With interactive whiteboards our students will be using the latest technology both inside and outside the classroom.
HOW:
By forming partnerships with groups and organizations in Andover, we can help our schools move forward more quickly with this critical effort.
The School Superintendent and School Committee are responsible for determining how funds allocated by Town Meeting will be spent. Though they have determined that interactive whiteboards are a priority, the need is greater than the resources.
WHEN:
This is a three year project. The more help we can give now, the sooner our students and teachers can begin opening doors to a challenging and exciting 21st Century classroom.
For more information on interactive whiteboards, see the website www.edfacilities.org/rl/interactive_ whiteboards.cfm
