PINE GROVE – Rock Hill elementary school students will get the chance to further their educational opportunities with a click of a mouse this year.

Wednesday, October 06, 1999

PINE GROVE – Rock Hill elementary school students will get the chance to further their educational opportunities with a click of a mouse this year.

The school district recently received a grant, which allowed the purchase of 190 computer workstations for students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

The computers arrived in the classrooms last week.

With these newer computer systems, students will be able to use more sophisticated, graphic-intense software programs, as well as access information faster, said Lloyd Evans, superintendent.

"This will give our students the opportunity to increase their proficiency scores, take electronic field trips using the Internet and provide additional resources for troubled areas of learning," Evans said.

The additional computers were made possible through an Ohio School Net Plus grant, which totaled $581,000.

The grant was awarded in three rounds over the past three years, Evans added.

"The first round money went to upgrade one of the buildings for computers," he said. "Following that, round two money came in, which we’ve had for about a year. And now round three money is just coming through."

And, hopefully, this last allotment will not be the end of the technology funding, Evans said.

"My understanding is that there will be a round four, or School Net Plus Plus, which is designated to make sure fifth-graders have a ratio of five students to every computer. We’ve already taken care of that ratio with our current funding, so we would be able to use any additional funds to improve the middle school."

The district’s technology coordinator has already installed the new computers in Rock Hill Elementary No. 1, and is currently working to install the computers at elementary No. 4.

Installation of computers at elementaries No. 2 and 3 will begin next week, Evans said.

"I think computer education is becoming much more important," he said. "I think the future job market is going to be involved with technology, and students are going to have to be familiar with that technology to secure a good position in the future."

Rock Hill students would continue to be behind the times, however, if the school district did not constantly pursue additional funding of this nature, Evans said.

"This was a much-needed bit of improvement, to be able to purchase that many computers at one time," he said.