How 12 MCSD schools will use over $750,000 to help bridge digital learning divide
State grants totaling millions of dollars mean 55 Georgia school districts will be better equipped to teach their students through computer technology, and a chunk of that money is coming to Columbus.
The Muscogee County School District has been awarded $776,305 out of the $21,578,236 in digital learning grants from the Georgia Department of Education.
MCSD plans to use the money to provide computer devices, software and professional learning to instructional staff at 12 schools:
- Elementary schools: Brewer, Davis, Dorothy Height, Georgetown, Martin Luther King Jr., Rigdon Road and Wesley Heights
- Middle schools: Baker, East Columbus and Rothschild
- High schools: Carver and Jordan
The grants are designed to boost digital technology infrastructure and utility for schools during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Georgia schools have been closed since March as part of the state’s effort to decrease the spread of the deadly coronavirus. With class instruction online only, distance learning is tougher for schools with predominantly disadvantaged students.
“The ‘digital divide’ in Georgia is not a new issue, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made it even more apparent,” GaDOE superintendent Richard Woods said in the department’s news release. “School districts have done incredible work during the COVID-19 school closures and have been hard-working, creative and thoughtful with the resources they have. But there is still a need for better digital learning infrastructure within our state, particularly in rural and underserved communities. These funds will help districts strengthen their digital learning capacity, extend summer learning opportunities and ensure no student is left unconnected.”
The grants allow school districts to spend the money from now through Sept. 30, 2021.
“During this time of uncertainty, we are pivoting toward more innovative ways to create equity in our student learning strategies,” MCSD superintendent David Lewis, MCSD said in the district’s news release.
MCSD communications director Mercedes Parham further explained that the grant will help the district “develop a toolkit for digital lessons and digital content aligned to power standards for K-8 English language arts, K-8 mathematics and high school mathematics and science.”
Parham said MCSD will use the money to pay for:
- Videoconferencing licenses for extended instruction time and collaborative groups
- Pre-loaded thumb drives for students
- Headsets with microphones for teachers to lead digital lessons
- Virtual summer programming
- Digital lesson plan templates
