Archived Information

**1997 Challenge Grant Awards**

**California**

**Fresno County Superintendent of Schools**\
Project Name: PASS Internet Program: Cyber High\
Contact: Guido Prambs\
823 W. Nielson Avenue\
Fresno, CA 93720\
Telephone: (599) 488--7545\
Fax: (599) 264--8326 Fax\
E-mail: gprambs@scoe.k12.ca.us\
Web site: www.cyberhigh.fcoe.k12.ca.us/\
Funding: 1st Year: \$571,700; 5 Years: \$2,862,683

PASS Internet Program: Cyber High, created by the Fresno County School
District in California, is an innovative, cost-effective approach to
completing high school graduation requirements via the Internet.
Disadvantaged students can access their course work, participate in
exciting learning activities, receive instantaneous feedback on test
items and scores, and review progress toward graduation\...all with the
click of a mouse! During the first 3 years of the project, Cyber High
staff will develop delivery systems via the Internet and expand the
current curriculum to provide easy access to an enriched program of
study. Web hyperlinks will allow students to experience \"cyber field
trips\" to a myriad of places related to each course. The final 2 years
will focus on dissemination activities, seeking new partners throughout
the United States, Mexico and/or Canada, and involving private
foundations, government agencies, and the corporate world.

**Lemon Grove School District**\
Project Name: Lemon Link\
Contacts: Barbara Allen and Darryl LaGace\
8025 Lincoln Street Lemon Grove, CA 91945 Telephone: (619) 825--5600\
Fax: (619) 589--5737\
E-mail: ballen@lgsd.k12.ca.us or dlagace@lgsd.k12.ca.us\
Web site: www.lgsd.k12.ca.us/lemonlink/default.htm\
Funding: 1st Year: \$664,295; 5Years: \$3,367,105

The Lemon Grove School District in California will connect all district
students and their parents to the classroom at home through development
of a District Internet/Intranet system. Project Lemon LINK infuses
technology into classroom instruction and extends learning opportunities
to any time and place within the community. Every child will be able to
access schoolwork from a variety of workstations throughout the
community, and uniquely, through computer access in every student's
home. Cox Communications will provide Internet cable access for each
student home, and for those who have no home computer, Cox will assist
with other sponsors in providing TV set top boxes, a keyboard, and a
mouse, converting TV sets into home computers. Microsoft is contributing
all of the software necessary to access the Internet and to support the
educational program. Unique Web-based instructional guides called Lemon
Aids, broaden the scope of education and motivate learners of all ages
in a variety of settings.

**Los Angeles Unified School District**\
Project Name: The New Spectrum Learning Program\
Contact: Deborah Brooks\
2445 Daly Street, Room B002\
Los Angeles, CA 90031\
Telephone: (323) 224--6191\
Fax: (323) 244--6199\
E-mail: djbrooks@workforcela.org\
Web site: www.workforcela.org/\
Funding: 1st Year: \$734,572; Five Years: \$2,606,787

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and Workforce LA, in
collaboration with DreamWorks SKG, the Alliance of Motion Picture and
Television Producers, Claremont Graduate School, the California
Department of Education, and a consortium of schools and
entertainment-related multimedia companies are establishing the New
Spectrum Learning Program. These partners will guide 600 K--12 teachers
and 20,000 inner-city students across this new and vibrant spectrum of
technological change and innovation. Through this program, teachers and
students will be able to see and experience an \"infrastructure\" that
enhances their ability to meet the new century's challenges.

**Sanger Unified School District**\
Project Name: Technology in Nature\
Contact: Mr. Kim Jacobsen\
1905 - 7th Street\
Sanger, CA 93657\
Telephone: (559) 875--5182\
Fax: (559) 875--5182\
E-mail: Kjacobsen@telis.org\
Web site: tins.sanger.k12.ca.us/\
Funding: 1st Year: \$710,864; 5 Years: \$2,492,046

The Technology in Nature in Sanger (TINS) Project sponsored by the
Sanger Unified School District in California, proposes a linkage between
the Sanger Nature Area and technology. This linkage will provide
\"real-world, real-time\" school-to-career education in the areas of
science and technology, beginning with a pilot of Del Roy, Lone Star,
and Jackson Elementary Schools, and the science departments at
Washington Academic Middle School and Sanger High School in the first
year of the grant. By the end of four years all Sanger Schools will be
involved in the TINS Project; the 5^th^ year will offer access for
students from surrounding districts. With the innovative use of
technology, intensive professional development, classroom linkages via
modems, sensors along trails, digital cameras, color printers and
scanners, students can study a variety of scientific processes and
record changes over time. A consortium of partners representing
educational entities, private enterprise, and environmental special
interest groups will provide assistance to this project.

**Florida**

**Volusia County School Board**\
Project Name: The Career Connection to Teaching with Technology
Consortium\
Contact: Marshall R. Ransom\
Mainland High School\
125 South Clyde Morris Boulevard\
Daytona Beach, FL 32114\
Telephone: (386) 226--0355\
Fax: (386) 226--0332\
E-mail: mransom@mail.volusia.k12.fl.us\
Web site: www.cctt.org\
Funding: 1st Year: \$1,345,777; 5 Years: \$6,527,645

The Career Connection to Teaching with Technology Consortium, initiated
by the Volusia County School Board in Florida, proposes to involve
outstanding teachers from geographically diverse public and private
schools in the development of educational resources and to guide them in
aligning their lessons with challenging state and national standards.
University partners and software developers will collaborate with
teachers to create three dimensional software that immerses students in
a virtual reality learning environment. Industry partners have already
designed a satellite delivery system, named the *Digital Curriculum
Intranet*, which will allow software products, lessons, and other
resources to arrive at participating schools in a reliable, timely
manner. The consortium of 30 diverse schools, the American Psychological
Association, Hughes Network Systems, Adobe, J. Weston Walsh publishers
and the University of Central Florida, and other partners will work
together to raise student achievement with technology.

**Georgia**

**Cobb County School District**\
Project Name: Education for a Sustainable Future\
Contact: Sue Brown\
514 Glover Street\
Marietta, GA 30060\
Telephone: (770) 429--5840\
Fax: (770) 429--5839\
E-mail: suebrown@cobbk12.org\
Web site: css.concord.org/esf\
Funding: 1st Year: \$1,345,922; 5 Years: \$6,433,991

The Education for a Sustainable Future Project, managed by the Cobb
County School District, will develop technology-rich, inquiry-based
K--12 learning materials to address sustainable development topics.
Sustainable development education investigates critical environment and
educational issues that help students understand their future and create
models for preferable futures. The study of sustainable development is
conducted with technology-based tools that assist planning, modeling,
and decisionmaking. Technology also provides the collaboration tools to
bring international expertise to the schools to support teachers as they
develop and implement materials. With the guidance of world class
experts and a national consortium, teachers in nine Georgia schools will
develop and test student-generated investigations and projects, and
associated software tools. The material will be revised and disseminated
throughout 8 southern districts through workshops and netcourses for 400
teachers and placed on the Web.

**Idaho**

**Blackfoot School District**\
Project Name: \"Just in Time\" Technology Training Project\
Contact: Helen Goeltz\
270 E. Bridge\
Blackfoot, ID 83221\
Telephone: (208) 782--9548\
Fax: (208) 785--2042\
E-mail: goelb@g55.k12.id.us\
Web site: challenge.isu.edu/\
Funding: 1st Year: \$1,349,915; 5 Years: \$5,259,658

Led by the Blackfoot School District, a consortium of school districts,
universities, and museums are directing a technology development and
demonstration project for Idaho's teachers and students. The Just in
Time Technology Training Project, pilots a product-driven process to
integrate technology into the teaching and learning of science and
social science. The process will produce three sets of instructional
multimedia materials targeted towards the elementary, middle, and senior
high school environments. Specifically, students and teachers will
explore Idaho's history, multiculturalism, and science. Each of these
components will address a wide range of subject disciplines and will
enable students and teachers to find new and creative ways for
integrating the material into original electronic reports and classroom
presentations.

**Illinois**

**Chicago Public Schools**\
Project Name: Neighborhood Learning Network (NLN)\
Contact: Ila Weinberg\
125 S. Clark Street\
5th Floor\
Chicago, IL 60603\
Telephone: (773) 553--1428\
Fax: (773) 553--1402\
E-mail: lweinberg@csc.cps.k12.il.us\
Web site: www.cnln.org/ and www.edc.org/ewit/cnln\
Funding: 1st Year: \$1,146,285; 5 Years: \$5,624,193

The Chicago Neighborhood Learning Network (NLN) is an initiative of the
Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Housing Authority, the Office of
Catholic Education, and the Chicago Urban League working in partnership
with neighborhood schools and organizations to fundamentally expand the
learning environment beyond traditional classrooms. Through conveniently
located neighborhood sites, the NLN will provide students, parents, and
teachers with expanded access to learning resources to develop the
lifelong skills to compete in the 21st century. The project mobilizes
the full community of stakeholders on behalf of facilitating rigorous,
standards-based instruction for all students and the curriculum,
professional development and assessment systems to support that
instruction.

**Kansas**

**Kansas City Public Schools**\
Project Name: Kansas Collaborative Research Network (KanCRN)\
Contact: Gary Anderson and Steve Case\
625 Minnesota Avenue\
Kansas City, KS 66101\
Telephone: (913) 279--2211 or (785) 864--4471\
Fax (913) 551--3217 or (785) 864--4149\
E-mail: gander@kancrn.org\
Web site: kancrn.org/\
Funding: 1st Year: \$883,359; 5 Years: \$4,009,732

National and local standards emphasize doing science for all Americans.
The Kansas Collaborative Research Network (KanCRN) is a local
collaborative research model that uses technology to incorporate the
fundamental teaching principles of these national and local standards.
Developed by the Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools, and the University
of Kansas, this community is working together to create an instructional
model that demonstrates that doing science is a better way of learning
science. KanCRN is a community of researchers, teachers, and students
interested in conducting collaborative research using Web, Geographic
Information Systems (GIS), and systems modeling technologies. This
project seeks to expand upon ideas already underway in pilot stages. The
technology tools developed, include interactive databases, GIS servers
and threaded discussion, and E-mail messaging, allowing students to
propose, conduct, discuss, and publish research online. Significant
interaction with community mentors involved in research is also a
characteristic of this project.

**Massachusetts**

**Boston Public Schools**\
Project Name: MetroLINC\
Contact: Alice Santiago\
Office of Instructional Technology\
Madison Park High School\
55 Martin Luther King Street\
Boston, MA 02119--1833\
Telephone: (617) 635--8880\
Fax: (617) 635--8894\
E-mail: asantiago@Boston.k12.ma.us\
Web site: www.Boston.k12.ma.us\
Funding: 1st Year: \$1,079,158; 5 Years: \$6,055,525

The MetroLINC project, created by the Boston Public Schools, will equip,
staff, train, and support 104 elementary and middle schools to implement
standards-based education using technology as a primary tool for
teaching and learning. A rapid dissemination program, MetroLINC will
create 12 technology demonstration community learning centers, 9 in
Boston and 3 in nearby Watertown. Teams from 92 schools will use the
demonstration sites as a model and training source. MetroLINC schools
are fully operating elementary and middle schools that have 5 key
elements: 1.) State-of-the-art equipment and infrastructure linking
sites as a single learning system, all at local expense; 2.) extended
hour access through public libraries and community centers; 3.) training
and technology support to use technology as a tool for teaching and
learning and assessing progress toward clearly defined academic
achievement goals; 4.) College-School programs to merge full preservice
training with regular school operations; and 5.) a curriculum Web
site/relational database to support standards-based education initially
focusing on math and science. Project benefits include improved
education for 33,826 predominantly innercity students, a robust start
for a regional learning community transcending barriers of class, race,
and disability, expanded inquiry learning software, and expanded
project-based science learning tools.

**Nebraska**

**Educational Service Unit #5**\
Project Name: Technology Reform and National Education Standards
IN-VISION\
Contact: Marie Trayer\
6949 S. 110th St.\
Omaha, NE 68128--5722\
Telephone (402) 597--4832\
Fax: (402) 597--4808\
Web site: invision.esu3.org/\
Funding: 1st Year: \$1,344,202; 5 Years: \$5,870,224

The Technology Reform and National Education Standards Project initiated
by the Educational Service Unit #5, uses foreign language instruction as
the centerpiece of a comprehensive program of educational reform at the
elementary and secondary levels in Nebraska and Iowa. Starting in first
grade, students will begin to learn the Spanish language and culture
using a communications-based approach. They will develop skills to
communicate with people who speak Spanish, but not English, and will
learn to appreciate the culture of Spanish-speaking people. This will
help prepare them for good paying jobs in an economy that is
increasingly dependent on international commerce, especially with Latin
America; improve their ability to function in a multicultural
environment; and enable them to reap greater pleasure from foreign
travel and communicating with native speakers. A variety of technologies
will be used to facilitate student learning and to provide professional
development including distance learning and direct Internet connectivity
utilizing multimedia computers. Partners in the project include five
Area Education Agencies and Educational Service Units, six local school
districts, two nonpublic schools, five institutions of higher education,
and a wide range of technology and telecommunications providers.

**North Dakota**

**Grand Forks Public School District One**\
Project Name: NatureShift! Linking Learning to Life\
Contact: Pat Donohue\
Dakota Science Center\
308 South 5th Street\
Grand Forks, ND 58201\
Telephone: (701) 795--8500\
Fax: (701) 775--8484\
E-mail: uyehara@daksci.org\
Web site: www.natureshift.org/\
Funding: 1st Year: \$1,049,267; 5 Years: \$4,501,936

NatureShift! Linking Learning to Life is a student and
Internet-centered, standards-aware and curricula-based project focused
on the interaction between the natural world and human society and
history. Using virtual environments based on Web Adventures, Real World
Adventures, and student-created Web projects, students and teachers at
12 demonstration sites will be immersed in authentic problem-solving
situations, and linked with practicing experts at the Dakota Science
Center and regional partners. Intensive training for teachers, students,
parents, and community members will form the foundation for this
project. Using new technologies, Grand Forks Public School District One
will develop six major curricula (Weather Watch, Dakota Skies, Wounded
Hawk, TeleRobotic Adventures, Grandparent's Attic, and Ranger Rosie),
that intrigue and educate learners. Collaborators include five school
districts, (three on Indian Reservations), two libraries, three museums,
University of North Dakota, Apple Computer, MET Inc., state parks, and
game and fish wildlife organizations, and consulting scientists.

**Oklahoma**

**Fairview Public Schools**\
Project Name: Aurora Project\
Contact: Gary Sacket\
1000 East Elm\
Fairview, OK 73737\
Telephone: (580) 227--1007\
Fax: (580) 227--2642\
E-mail: gsacket@www3.aurora.ok.org\
Web site: www.aurora.ok.org/\
Funding: 1st Year: \$1,205,905; 5 Years: \$5,448,001

The Aurora Project brings together teachers from across the State of
Oklahoma to create a technology-based curriculum tied to Oklahoma's
Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS) standards. That
curriculum---Geog Web---makes geography studies an extension of the
lives of students and the communities in which they live. It uses
technology to make cooperative learning a state-wide and even global
experience, and to build an ever-growing warehouse of knowledge
resources and curriculum units. The project will be conducted by
Fairview Public Schools on behalf of a consortium of six public school
districts (Fairview, Enid, Frontier, Jenks, Pryor, and Hugo), the
Catholic schools of Oklahoma City, Southwestern Oklahoma State
University, the Pioneer Telephone Cooperative, and Southwest Educational
Development Laboratory. Expert assistance comes from OneNet (a statewide
Internet provider), the Oklahoma GIS Council, the Oklahoma
Climatological Survey and Mesonet Project, Oklahoma Advancement of
Geographic Education (OKAGE), the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, the
Association of American Geographers, and project evaluators from the
University of Oklahoma.

**South Carolina**

**Richland County School District One**\
Project Name: Richland Clicks!\
Contact: Linda Bowers\
1225 Oak Street\
Columbia, SC 29204\
Telephone: (803) 733--6124\
Fax: (803) 733--6025\
E-mail: lbowers@richlandone.org\
Web site: www.richlandclicks.org/\
Funding: 1st Year: \$884,454; 5 Years: \$4,372,482

Through Richland Clicks!, the Richland County School District One in
Columbia, South Carolina, proposes to 1) develop a core curriculum
database through a district-wide Intranet to improve student success by
giving teachers on-demand access to learning activities and
technology-rich model lessons based on curriculum objectives; 2) develop
interdisciplinary units in five \"lifelong learning\" areas
(environment, economics, arts, entertainment, and culture;
communications, health, and safety); 3) provide community outreach and
accessibility through community computers, a mobile technology van, a
portable training lab, and community service; and 4) offer ongoing
professional development featuring the use of peer training and
telementoring. Some 54 district schools, 12 \"impaired\" districts, the
Department of Juvenile Justice School District, and 20 private schools
have joined forces with over 30 community partners.

**The School District of Greenville County**\
Project Name: Village Green Project\
Contact: Lynn Nolan and Jack Blodgett\
208 Artillery Road\
Taylors, SC 29687\
Telephone: (864) 609--6525 or (864) 241--4167\
Fax: (864) 609--6527 or (864) 241--3473\
E-mail: lynnnolan@greenville.k12.sc.us or jblodgett@globalvision.net\
Web site: www.villagegreen.net\
Funding: 1st Year: \$ 921,822; 5 Years:\$4,831,565

The Village Green Project, sponsored by the School District of
Greenville County, provides a system of professional development and
community involvement opportunities. Through the combined resources of
the Greenville Technology and Learning Consortium, students, educators,
parents, businesses, and community members have forged a common
commitment to provide access to technology. To reach Greenville County's
learning goals and to address achievement gaps, the Village Green
project proposes an innovative approach to professional development.
Teachers are trained in computer technology and integrating the
appropriate software applications into the curriculum; moreover, they
become thoughtful users of technology to improve their own practice and
enhance the lives of their students.

**Sumter School District Two**\
Project Name: Extending Learning Through Community and Family\
Contact: Julia S. Newman\
1345 Wilson Hall Road, P.O. Box 2425\
Sumter, SC 29151--2425\
Telephone: (803) 469--6900 ext. 511\
Fax: (803) 469--4006\
E-mail: jnewman@scsd2.k12.sc.us\
Web site: www.myschoolonline.com/sc/sumter2\
Funding: 1st Year: \$784,602; 5 Years: \$3,176,913

Extending Learning Through Community and Family is an initiative of
Sumter School District Two in South Carolina. Sumter is striving to
bridge the gap between technology and those that have been traditionally
left out of the technological fold due to economics, lack of knowledge,
or lack of access. A diverse consortium of business, industry, local
government, community agencies, state government, citizens, parents, and
school districts are collaborating to create a true learning community.
By embedding new technology into the fabric of school, work, and
community activities, Sumter's innovative community will connect to each
other and the world in an interactive, institutionalized, and ongoing
learning structure designed to improve the quality of life for all
citizens.

**South Dakota**

**Todd County School District #66-1**\
VISIONS TECWEB\
Contact: Ted Hamilton\
110 E. Denver Street, P.O. Box 87\
Mission, SD 57555\
Telephone: (605) 856--4869 ext 237\
Fax: (605) 856--4333\
E-mail: thamil@tcsdk12.org\
Funding: 1st Year: \$ 770,655; 5 Years: \$3,555,921

VISIONS TECWEB addresses the needs of nearly 3,000 disadvantaged and
special needs Native American youth in a tristate region. TECWEB, or
Technology Education Challenge---World's Expanding Boundaries, directs a
student-involved, teacher-controlled, community-based model which uses
traditional Lakota values as guiding principles for infusing technology
with the curricula. A diverse consortium led by the Todd County School
District is dedicated to creating modern communication centers of
learning for Lakota and Dakota (Native American) students. The
consortium provides the requisite leadership to encourage the pursuit of
higher lifetime achievement by linking academically-prepared youth with
new and relevant information age economic opportunities.

**Texas**

**San Antonio Independent School District**\
San Antonio Technology in Education Coalition (SATEC)\
Contact: Paul Tisdell\
141 Lavaca Street\
San Antonio, TX 78210\
Telephone: (210) 299--5648\
Fax: (210) 299--5588 Fax\
E-mail: ptisdel@saisd.net\
Web site: satec.saisd.net/\
Funding: 1st Year: \$857,977; 5Years: \$3,838,546

The San Antonio Technology in Education Coalition (SATEC) seeks to
connect student learning to concrete experiences through the seamless
integration of technology into the curriculum and instruction by
developing a training and application model. This model will first be
piloted in the Coalition's critical need area of mathematics through a
hands-on, data-driven approach to the learning of algebraic concepts,
using such tools as computer-interfaced probes, image analysis software,
and spreadsheet-based simulation activities. These technology tools will
radically change the environment of the teaching/learning process for
mathematics. The San Antonio Independent School District expects to
infuse this systemic change of current teaching/learning practices
through technology training into all curricular areas.

**Washington**

**Manson School District**\
Project Name: Cascade Consortium\
Contact: Daniel Matthews\
369 E. Johnson Street\
Chelan, WA 98816\
Telephone: (509) 670--3811\
Fax: (509) 682--5942\
E-mail: matthews@cc5.org\
Web site: www.cc5.org/\
Funding: 1st Year: \$ 809,558; 5 Years: \$2,607,846

The Manson School District is developing a wireless Intranet system
linking five school districts/communities across Washington State. The
wireless system provides access to Cable TV, CD-ROM, videotapes,
laserdiscs, satellite telecommunication, video conferencing, and the
Internet. These technology tools augment the educational opportunities
for students and allow school districts to share specialized teachers
and staff developments. Expanding educational opportunities for five
rural school districts further expands the number of advanced offerings
in core subjects to secondary students by creating media network centers
in each district that are capable of bringing education to the learner.
Community connections are strengthened through curricula that initiates
group process writing among elementary schools; initiatives that create
and deliver instruction for migrant students; and programs that provide
continuing education for staff and community members.