Grant Boosts High School’s Tech Power

Getting a huge boost from a state grant, Westminster High School will be able to replace classroom computers considered antiquated or, as one teacher put it, “way old.”

The school found out last week that it has been awarded a Digital High School Education Grant, worth $769,200 this year, toward a total of about $1 million over the coming three years.

One of the teachers instrumental in getting the grant, Candace Gay, said the new computers will benefit every student and teacher. The grant will fund five computers in every classroom, along with Internet connections, and additional equipment schoolwide.

The old computers were unable to use current software, Gay said.

“We’ve been generally known as a technology school, but the stuff we have is way old and this allows us to remove the old machines,” Gay said. “This will allow our teachers to get up to speed.”

In addition to the computers and new software, the grant will provide a comprehensive training program for students and teachers. Classes for teachers start in the summer.

The grant has prompted the school to develop a list of technology goals, among them making competent computer users in the realms of learning and careers, and training teachers to integrate technology into their curriculum to boost student achievement.

Students and teachers will also get business application software, and the high school’s auto shop will benefit with a digital engine analyzer.

Gay said the school had been moving in the direction of improved computer systems before the grant. For example, the computer lab was updated recently. But she called the rest of the school’s computer capabilities spotty.

With the grant, she is optimistic that the school can provide a place for students from lower-income families to learn with computers.

“Because of [the school’s] economic base, lots of kids don’t have computers at home,” she said. “This is the only kind of place they will get exposure.”

Alex Murashko can be reached at (714) 966-5974.