180 Days of Learning : BREA OLINDA UNIFIED

Students and teachers will return this fall to greatly improved access to the Internet and other computer technologies.

“It’s a significant wiring project,” Assistant Supt. Peter Boothroyd said of the district’s largest undertaking this summer. “It affects every classroom, every teacher and every kid.”

The $400,000 project was funded by federal grants and state lottery returns saved for the past two years, said Gary D. Goff, assistant superintendent.

“Every single instructional area will have at least six to eight connection points,” Goff said. “And libraries on each of the campuses will have at least 32 points of connection.”

Goff said the project lays the groundwork for districtwide computer access. The number of computers in classrooms, however, will vary from school to school.

“Every school is a little different, depending on how they use their budgets,” he said. “The district’s obligation is to provide basic connectivity and one computer per classroom.”

Nearly every classroom now has a computer station for the teacher, with a screen that can be enlarged for presentations, Goff said.

Eventually, classrooms will have computer workstations for groups of several students so they will have access to the Internet, electronic mail and other computers within the district.

Goff said the district hopes to install an internal e-mail system within the next year.