Jackson County High School is upgrading its classroom technology with a $10,000 grant from the TVA EnergyRight School Uplift program.
Principal Brandon Cross said the funding allows the school to purchase some 20 color printers for teacher and student use. Cross said the school previously only a few color printers available in the entire building.
“In a small rural school such as ours, a $10,000 grant is huge, especially providing this upgrade that, I mean, if we would have done this with what moneys we had left over at the end of every year, it would have taken us several years to get everybody a new color printer that wanted one or needed one and this route being able to do it all at once is huge for our students and for our teachers,” Cross said.
Cross said the school system is a one-to-one district where all students have Chromebooks and all teachers have interactive boards. Cross said the new laser-jet printers are more energy-efficient than the older technology they are replacing.
“We really just want to provide all we can to our students,” Cross said. “We want them to have the latest updated stuff. We want them to have access to good stuff that enhances their learning.”
Cross said the grant program involved a year of work by staff members Joe Halfacre and Terri Collins, who participated in webinars and worked with student teams. Cross said students conducted energy conservation reports and distributed LED light bulbs to the community as part of the initiative to earn the grant money.
“It helps the students be able to see the different graphics and things better that they are creating once they’re printed off instead of just seeing everything in black and white,” Cross said.
Cross said the grant program offered several options for the funding, including weather stripping for doors or purchasing more computers.Cross said the students ultimately voted to use the money for color printers to increase their access to hands-on learning tools.
“We’re just thankful to TVA and to Upper Cumberland Electric for this grant and for this opportunity for Jackson County High School and we appreciate the opportunity to be able to participate in this grant cycle,” Cross said.