Neshoba Central adds $1.5M in technology

A chalkboard was a classroom staple when Neshoba Central Elementary School teacher Angie Coward began her teaching career. Now more than 21 years later, chalkboards and subsequent dry erase boards have been replaced with Promethean boards.

The interactive whiteboard allows teachers to project an image from a laptop or computer. They can also interact with the board through touch or specialized pens.

Promethean boards and other new devices are now in most classrooms across the Neshoba County School District, as part of more than $1.5 million in new technology, funded mostly through the first phase of the Mississippi Connects digital learning plan.

The Mississippi Legislature allocated $200 million for Mississippi Connects for schools statewide through two laws, the Equity in Distance Learning Act (SB 3044) and the Mississippi Pandemic Response Broadband Availability Act (HB 1788). The goal is for every student to receive the technology needed to learn at school and at home. These tools will enable students to continue making academic progress.

Districts statewide placed orders to purchase over 325,000 computer devices through the state Department of Education.

Neshoba County Superintendent of Education Lundy Brantley said the EDLA grant required a 20 percent match from the school district.

"We spent just over $200,000," he said.

Under EDLA, Neshoba purchased 1,155 Chromebooks, 327 student laptops, 167 teacher laptops, 30 iPads, 18 MacBooks and 22 amplification systems.

Through the Broadband Availability Act, Neshoba purchased 753 internet hotspot devices.

Neshoba's overall technology project included an additional 22 hotspot devices, 65 amplification systems, 30 student device charging carts and 80 Promethean boards made possible through Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds.

All those funds were made possible through the CARES Act.

Funds from other Federal Programs, such as Title 1, Part A and School Improvement, were utilized to purchase an additional 26 student device charging carts, 21 Promethean boards and 62 document cameras.

While the Neshoba County School District's Chromebook initiative to provide one device for every student was progressing forward, the additional funding brought the initiative to fruition, Brantley said.

"One of the neat things is that our high school hardly had any Promethean boards at all," he said. "Now, they are in line with the other two schools as far as that technology."

Coward uses her board throughout the day in her second grade classroom.

"I love it," she said. "I really like all the capabilities it gives the students to interact."

Coward said the board frees up more time for instruction as it is paired with her computer and subsequent lesson plans.

"I have power point links throughout my lesson plans, which are put on the board for student interaction. You can also pair their Chromebooks to the board for interaction."

Amplification systems a 'game changer'

Dr. Brantley was also excited about the addition of amplification systems.

"They are a really good addition," he said. "Through this overall project, we were able to do some things that we didn't anticipate doing on our own, such as the amplification systems."

Kelly Spence, high school speech pathologist, said the amplification systems deliver highly intelligible speech from teachers to students in class and at home during distance learning.

"It improves the quality of sound for each child," she said. "The learner outcome is better with the amplification."

Deirdre Manning, director of federal programs for the school district, said the amplification systems have proven to be a very useful tool in the classroom, especially while under a mask mandate.

During quarantines and while the high school was on hybrid schedule last semester, most teachers delivered online instruction whether live, recorded, or via an internet-based learning system.

Students could hear the teacher from anywhere in the classroom as opposed to the teacher providing instruction directly in front of the computer, even when teaching online through Zoom or other video-conferencing applications.

"The amplification system is needed to project the teacher's voice clearly," Manning said.

Coward utilizes her new amplification system daily.

"I love it in general but even more so this year because of the masks," she said. "It's a complete game changer. I wish I had one during all my years of teaching."

Another new device in her second grade classroom is a document camera.

"I use it a lot," Coward said. "It's like a digital copy machine. It's awesome!"

Principals laud new technology

High School Principal Jason Gentry was pleased that the district has reached its Chromebook Initiative.

"Through the efforts of many dedicated people, we are thankful to have upgraded the technology at NCHS so our students have the same opportunities and technological advances that the top high schools in our state currently possess," he said.

"With the addition of over 700 Chromebooks with carts, we have finally reached our goal of all classrooms being equipped with devices for one-to-one student use. That, along with Promethean interactive panels that were installed in all classrooms, allowed our teachers to broaden the learning scope with interactive details that enhance and enrich the learning experiences for our students. Overall, it is our mission to promote learning experiences that will lead to successes for our students beyond high school."

Middle School Principal Cody Killen said the increase in access to educational technology "is providing alternate ways for teachers to deliver instruction to our students."

Killen said his school has seen a "quick rebound in the achievement gap experienced by the onset of the pandemic and access to equitable resources for all students has certainly helped our mission in making this year successful."

Neshoba Central Elementary Principal Tiffany Plott said the new technology ensured that students in kindergarten through fifth grades have their own devices while at school.

"One of the hottest trends right now is teaching digital citizenship," Plott said. "It's the newest buzz word out there. Digital citizenship is where a person develops skills and knowledge to effectively use the internet and other digital technology in order to participate responsibly in the world.

"We are teaching our kids to function in a world where most everything is online. Like most of us, we do online banking, we're ordering our groceries online these days, etc. It's teaching them to thrive and succeed in an age where technology is the key to everything we do."

Plott said students take pride in their own personal Chromebooks.

"They are able to personalize them, make their own screen saver, etc. They take ownership of it. It's good to let the kids have that kind of ownership."