As in other school systems, Fayette County officials realize they need to continue strengthening their technology options to deliver a good education for their students.

A recent grant of nearly $500,000 will certainly bolster that ambition.

According to Ben Pettry, the system’s technology director, the county secured a grant last fall of $490,657 from the USDA Rural Development Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Certification program. While the grant was received in October, Pettry says he’s still trying to solidify final details in preparation for putting the project out to bid.

The grant will result in two-way video conferencing for county schools and their students. While Pettry says he’ll try to have some of the units installed by this fall, the entire project will last three years.

“The total logistics of the whole thing have to be worked out, but it’s a great opportunity for us to move forward,” he said.

The distance learning proposal calls for a two-way video conferencing center to be installed in each of the county’s six high schools, as well as the Fayette Institute of Technology. The county will partner with New River Health Services to offer two-way conferencing for a variety of classes from one school to another and from outside sources.

Students will be the primary focus, but community classes could be instituted later, Pettry said. Also, local firefighters and emergency service personnel can utilize the system to take training to update their certifications.

One key component of the program, Pettry says, is that it will give students in smaller schools the opportunity to take classes that might not normally be available to them due to lack of staff. Of course, if the certified teacher in a particular class happens to be teaching at a smaller school, students from larger schools can be piped in.

“We can offer a course from any place,” said Pettry. “It’s not centric to one particular location.”

The program will allow for direct interaction between teacher and student. Obviously, a common time frame would have to be scheduled for the project to work, Pettry pointed out.

Of $25 million distributed across the United States, Pettry said the Fayette system was the only education-based organization to receive the grant this year.

— E-mail:

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