In cooperation with the Education and Research Consortium of Western North Carolina, of which Montreat College is a member, teachers from 24 WNC public, private and charter schools will go through this pilot program, which will train teachers to utilize the millions of treasures held by the Library of Congress through the Internet. These teachers will be on the leading edge of the development of a classroom technology program that is expected to become a national model. Montreat College is proud to have played a lead role with the Library of Congress in developing this exciting four-year program. We are most grateful to Congressman Taylor for his support and encouragement. We feel privileged to work with the Library in an initiative that will benefit our local schools, and ultimately, schools, teachers and students across America.
Education is the key to Western North Carolina's future, and teachers are the key to education.
Taylor, Chairman of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee in Congress, shepherded through the Congress the nation's first pilot program to teach our school teachers how to use the resources of the Library of Congress' American Memory Program, which now has digitized over 5 million of our most important historical documents. This new program will train teachers to access and utilize these new resources using the latest technology to greatly enhance teaching and learning. The first cluster of 14 schools participating is comprised of teachers from public, private, and charter schools from McDowell and Buncombe Counties. Teachers from 10 additional schools in five new counties begin participation in the program in February. The program will be coordinated through the education departments of Montreat and Mars Hill College.