MARLBORO COUNTY, SC (WBTW) – The Marlboro County School district received a grant that will give the district new technology next school year.
The district received the grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a total of $485,493.
Director for Retention and Development, Barbara McCall, told News13 the grant is a big opportunity for Marlboro County Schools.
“It will give us an opportunity to step-up our game, and it will give us a way to ensure that all our classrooms have instruction from certified teachers,” McCall explained. “With the teacher shortage, we struggle in Marlboro County to fill all our vacancies so this gives us just one more tool we can use to make sure we’re providing the best quality instruction for our students.”
McCall said the state-of-the-art technology will help in different aspect of the typical school day.
“We can do virtual field trips with our students,” she explained. “We can do virtual professional development with our teachers between schools, and it will allow us to actually provide distance-learning classes from one school to the next.”
McCall said the district’s only obligation to the grant is approximately $77 thousand. According to Dr. Gregory McCord this is money well spent considering the return on investment.
According to a press release sent by the school district, the project will include installation of the newest and latest technology to replace an aging, out-of-date distance learning network system. Nine sites have been identified in MCSD for these upgrades. All schools in the district will have the capability to interact virtually.
“Marlboro County, for us to get a grant of this type, that would allow us to buy this state-of-the-art equipment is something that we could only wish for,” McCall said. “This grant makes it a true possibility and a reality.”
The district said the new technology will allow students to take classes at remote sites, to include colleges/universities, and also plan to advance its STEM programs and increase dual credit learning opportunities.
McCall said the district will install the equipment and train staff on it this school year, and will implement the new technology at the start of the 2018-2019 school year.
