In 1995 the schools were very fortunate in that the town granted us $50,000 to upgrade the technology that was available in the school. This initial investment allowed for the creation of a 9 station PowerMac lab, a PowerMac in every classroom and the office, networking of the Dunphy school (4-6), internet access via a shared netmodem, a central file server and some digital tools. Since that time we have had our technology plan approved by the state and received $6,660 in matching grant funds from the state. In 1996 we were designated by the state as an Educational Technology Lighthouse School. Beginning in January of 1997 through the summer of 1998 we served as a resource to other schools in Western Massachusetts through our partner school program. In addition we ran summer technology institutes offering a variety of workshops to area teachers.
We used our matching grant funds to upgrade our internet access to an ISDN connection providing simultaneous internet access to all computers in the Dunphy school via a Farallon Netopia router. In 1998 we connected the two schools together using wireless technology expanding the network services to both schools and giving internet access throughout the entire schools.
We were recognized again in the 1998/1999 round of state lighthouse funding. Two of our classrooms were designated as lighthouse classrooms:
In addition, the school received a $50,000 grant to serve as a mentor school to other local school districts. As well as working with these "partner schools" we hosted a series of monthly technology showcases as well as a month long summer technology institute. As part of this grant package we were able to update our computer lab to Imac computers, purchase an LCD projector and purchase 5 G3 powerbooks to share throughout the school.
In 1999/2000 we were awarded a $40,000 grant that was used to continue our work promoting the use of technology to enhance the teaching of mathematics. Also during the year we upgraded our internet connectivity to cable providing high speed internet access to our entire network.
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