Press release from Henderson County Public Schools:
HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (Feb. 2, 2018) – Bruce Drysdale Elementary is searching for donations to match an $8,500 Missions Grant from Hendersonville First United Methodist Church, to fund Google Chromebooks for its upper grades.
Principal BJ Laughter said the school had already purchased two carts of Chrome books for the 3rd grade, and the $8,500 grant plus its match would allow the school to purchase two additional carts.
Laughter said, “If we get two more carts, we’ll be 1:1 for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade,” meaning the school will have a Chromebook device for each student in the upper grades. “Eventually, we want to be 1:1 in the whole school, as quickly as possible,” he said.
A portion of the $8,500 Missions Grant was presented to Laughter from Dee West, a Missions Council member at Hendersonville FUMC and substitute teacher at Bruce Drysdale. A retired teacher, West learned about Laughter’s desire to make Bruce Drysdale a 1:1 school while she was recently serving as an interim 3rd grade teacher. She said the need perfectly matched the goal of her church’s mission council.
“Through the Missions Grant, we were looking for a partner that we could not only give a grant to for an important project, but also get our members involved,” West said.
She said Hendersonville FUMC has several tech-savvy members who will assist the teachers and students in navigating the new technology, alongside 3rd grade teacher and FUMC member Shawna Taylor – who’s already professionally trained in integrating Chromebooks in the classroom.
“Whether it’s getting the kids signed in, working with students on extension activities, or word processing,” West said. “You can never have too many people care for a child.”
In addition to acquainting the students with the new technology, Taylor will also serve as a mentor for the teachers new to Chromebooks. “I’ll be training the staff as those carts of Chromebooks come in from the donations,” Taylor said.
But before the Chromebook carts roll in, the grant from Hendersonville FUMC needs a match of an additional $8,500. Having already raised $2,000, Laughter is looking for an additional $6,500 to match the grant. Interested local businesses and organizations should contact BJ Laughter at Bruce Drysdale at 828-697-5568 or wjlaughter@hcpsnc.org
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