Students at Calhoun Community High School will have more access to digital leaning technologies in the classroom next year thanks to a donation of 50 computers from Kellogg Community College.
KCC, which charters CCHS, delivered the desktop computers – complete with towers, monitors, keyboards and mice – last week.
Tim Allard, director of the high school, said the computers will be stationed five per classroom to replace outdated and nonfunctioning machines that have been recycled. CCHS has been using a “rolling lab” outfitted with Chromebooks and iPads to connect students with technology, Allard said, but access to the devices was limited.
“This is definitely an upgrade,” Allard said. “This will give everybody computer access every single day, so if our instructors want the kids to do research or write papers or do PowerPoints or something like that, they won’t have to sign or check something out or take their kids to a different room.”
KCC upgrades approximately 300 lab and staff computers every year, with most of the retired machines being donated to local schools or nonprofits.
“In an increasingly digital age, access to modern technology is more important than ever, particularly when it comes to education,” said Dr. Dennis Bona, president of KCC. “We are happy to partner with local school districts as we collectively bridge the technological divides that exist in our community.”
The computer donation is just the latest collaborative effort between KCC and CCHS. Earlier this fall, students from a service-learning course at KCC with students from Albion College and Western Michigan University won a $1,500 grant from Michigan Campus Compact to develop an after-school program for CCHS students called B4 the Streetlights. That program will begin this spring.
“We appreciate the collaboration with KCC,” Allard said. “It’s really grown this year and we want to keep it going. This is a great gift right before Christmas, and it will be put to good use.”
In the attached photo, for use by the media, CCHS Director Tim Allard, center, speaks on the phone as he directs students distributing computers donated by KCC to classrooms at the high school.
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