Technology grant helps St. Mary’s School become ‘one-to-one’ school

 

St. Mary’s School now a one-to-one school thanks to grant from St. Mary’s Legacy Foundation

Through the help of the St. Mary’s Legacy Foundation, St. Mary’s School in Oak Ridge is now the first diocesan school to offer “one-to-one” technology. The school used a grant of $29,200 to install wireless infrastructure and purchase dozens of Chromebooks to fulfill the goal of providing a Chromebook for every student in grades 1-8.

The St. Mary’s Legacy Foundation also awarded a second grant of $11,765 to replace the outdated and unrepairable public address system in the school.

On May 4, Bishop Richard F. Stika; Sister Mary Marta Abbott, diocesan superintendent of schools; and Terry Frank, Anderson County mayor were among several guests who attended the celebration, a press release said. The event began with a tour of the school to see how students use the Chromebooks in the classroom, from spelling games in first grade to experiments in the middle school science lab.

“With one-to-one technology, students stay more engaged and can work at a faster pace, and teachers can develop lesson plans for each student’s individual needs,” the press release said. “Teachers are able to give timely feedback on work (that) students submit electronically through Google Classroom. Teachers and students alike are excited to use this technology to improve student achievement.”

Stika, Sister Marie Blanchette, and Frank shared brief remarks about St. Mary’s School, the press release said.

“St. Mary’s School is grateful to the St. Mary’s Legacy Foundation for their generosity in helping make needed improvements to the school,” the release said. “The St. Mary’s Legacy Foundation seeks to assist the needy and vulnerable of East Tennessee by engaging in general charitable undertakings and endeavors, including but not limited to, providing and supporting health care and health care education initiatives, counseling, shelter, nourishment, parochial and secondary education, spiritual education and enrichment, and undertaking other programs to relieve suffering and distress and to improve the human condition.”

For more information about St. Mary’s School, visit school.stmarysoakridge.org.

This press release was submitted by Sarah Trent of St. Mary’s of Oak Ridge.

 

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