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INFOCON Receives Technology Challenge Grant
October 10, 1999
The United Northwest Minnesota INFOCON an information and communications
consortium of 13 public and non-public schools in Northwest Minnesota has been awarded a $250,000.00 Technology Literacy Challenge Grant from the Minnesota Department of Children Families and Learning, according to Theresa Mish.
The consortium members include: Climax- Shelly Public Schools, Win-E-Mac Public Schools, Red Lake Falls Public Schools, St. Phillip's School- Bemidji, MN, Cathedral School- Crookston, MN, Holy Rosary School- Detroit Lakes, MN, Sacred Heart Elementary School- East Grand Forks, MN, St. Michael's School- Mahnomen, MN, St. Joseph's School- Moorhead, MN, St. Mary's Mission School- Red Lake, MN, St. Joseph's School- Red Lake Falls, MN, St. Bernard's School- Thief River Falls, MN, Sacred Heart High School-
East Grand Forks, MN.
The INFOCON has as one of its primary goals to provide technology training and development experiences for teachers of participating schools. Another goal of the consortium is to build an educational coalition among the schools , communities and other organizations in order to maximize technology resources and human and financial resources, according to Fr. Tim Bushy, INFOCON Coordinator of Red Lake Falls, MN.
In order to help speed the implementation of the MN E-Schools Matrix and the Teacher and Student competencies and integrate technology fully into our schools curricula, the grant funds will be used by The UNITED NW MN INFOCON to conduct 30 training sessions for teachers of participating schools in cooperation with the University of Minnesota- Crookston during the 1999-2000 school year. The teachers will be reimbursed a minimal travel expense and all schools will be reimbursed for substitute pay to cover the costs of the training for the teachers involved from the schools.
Each of the 13 participating schools will receive 3 laptop computers to be used by the teachers for their ongoing training and development. The laptops will provide the portability needed by the teachers to bring the computers to the training sessions and also allow them to use the computers in their homes for additional work and study that will compliment the training experiences.
"This is a wonderful example of how cooperation and collaboration can build success in school technology implementation for private and public schools in our area", according to Bushy. Our member schools have a mission statement and strategic plan and we hope that this is the beginning of some very great things for the INFOCON in technology education in Northwest Minnesota."
Other Schools and Districts in the state of MN receiving funds include:
- Battle Lake 542 $100,000.00
- Bemidji 31 $250,000.00
- Browns Valley 801 $87,950.00
- Carver-Scott Educational Cooperative 930 $92,241.00
- Crosby-Ironton 182 $184,000.00
- Deer River Public 317 $226,293.00
- ECHO Charter School 4026 $36,001.00
- Evansville 208 $29,929.00
- Faribault 656 $99,840.00
- Grand Rapids 318 $130,632.00
- Greenway 316 $250,000.00
- McGregor 4 $224,756.00
- Minneapolis 1 $250,000.00
- New London-Spicer 345 $175,000.00
- New York Mills 553 $101,767.00
- Northeast Service Cooperative $244,860.00
- Pillager 116 $217,182.00
- Sauk Centre 743 $167,500.00
- Southland 500 $200,000.00
- St. Paul 625 $250,000.00
- Tracy 417 $249,800.00
- White Bear Lake 624 $250,000.00
The Technology Literacy Challenge Grants are federal dollars that have been sent to each state to improve the use of technology in education.
The state dept of Children, Families and Learning has posted our announcement on their home page- open up for more details. http://www.educ.state.mn.us/newsrel/Apr99/teklit.htm
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