Sharon Springs Central School is one of 24 schools in the nation to be awarded a $50,000 Verizon Foundation grant for technology, money it will put toward its iPad project.
As part of a pilot program through Capital District BOCES, all 150 7-12th grade students and their teachers spent the just-ended school year learning and working off their own iPads.
Some students even opted to take their math Regents on locked-down iPads, which featured a graphing calculator application, required for some courses and normally carrying a price tag of $200-$250 new.
All of the iPads have been returned-the last two before just 'their' students crossed the stage at Saturday's graduation-for summer servicing and updates.
The Verizon grant was just announced Monday and SSCS Business Manager Tony DiPace said he's working on a budget that will prioritize the best use of the money.
Mr. DiPace said the $50,000 goes hand-in-hand with training for six teachers in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, and math that will be conducted by the International Society for Technology in Education, also financed by the Verizon Foundation.
SSCS is the only school in New York State to be funded; Mr. DiPace said the competitive process involved a written application and four or five conference calls.
"They really liked our one-on-one iPad project," he said. "We also needed teachers to sign on for the training, which wasn't a problem."
English teacher and tech wiz Tom Yorke will spearhead the project and Mr. DiPace credited him with helping SSCS secure the grant, which expands on the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools launched at 12 schools last year.
"It's really exciting for a school our size to get something like this," Mr. DiPace said. "It's a fantastic opportunity."