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State Representative Jeanne Poppe
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4193
For more information contact: Sandy Connolly 651-296-8877
Column/LTE
GRANT TO AREA SCHOOLS HAVE TREMENDOUS POTENTIAL
Dear Editor,
Recently twenty rural school districts, including several in our area, were awarded a federal grant from the US Department of Agriculture. The receipt of these grant dollars are due to the cooperation and collaboration of regional schools on the Southeast Minnesota Generation Now Learning Project. As a result of their efforts, they have been awarded a $373,000 federal grant from the US Department of Agriculture, which will help them bridge the “digital divide" with videoconferencing technology.
Dwindling state resources and student enrollment, in addition to other educational barriers, make it very difficult for rural schools to provide the same basic education as larger schools. As a result of this grant, each school district in the project will receive mobile videoconferencing units with plasma displays and wireless capability. This technology will integrate with existing technology infrastructure to provide access to these distance-learning opportunities. Not only will this make more course offerings available, the funding will also provide training for teachers in using distance-learning technologies.
Riverland Community College will play a role in the project, as well, offering concurrent courses that provide both high school and college credits. Participating area schools include Southland, LeRoy-Ostrander, Grand Meadow, Kingsland and Lyle.
I was pleased to write a letter of support for this proposal. At a time when school dollars are stretched dangerously thin, innovative ideas such as this can make a tremendous difference in providing the kind of education every Minnesota student deserves.
Sincerely,
State Rep. Jeanne Poppe
News Items
- POPPE SELECTED AS AGRICULTURE POLICY COMMITTEE CHAIR - (Posted: 2012-11-16 00:00:00)
- Rep. Jeanne Poppe Encourages High School Juniors to Apply for Minnesota House of Representatives Page Program - Application Deadline is November 19th - (Posted: 2012-11-12 00:00:00)
- HORMEL INSTITUTE EXPANSION SIGNED INTO LAW - 2012 legislative session adjourns sine die - (Posted: 2012-05-11 00:00:00)
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