Staff Writer
From “virtual field trips” to professional development opportunities, Aroostook County schools will benefit greatly from USDA Rural Development funding for distance learning and telemedicine equipment. Two county applicants – the Caribou School Department and Region 2 School of Applied Technology – have received nearly $1 million in funding.
“This strategic investment by USDA Rural Development will ensure that Aroostook County schools have access to boundless resources for information, as well as the ability to expand their horizons beyond their classrooms to a global learning environment,” said USDA Rural Development State Director Virginia Manuel. “It will also enable the connection of several central hubs to vocational and technical centers in 11 Maine counties.”
In central Aroostook, more than 20 schools will be receiving Tandberg telecommunication equipment for a wide variety of educational enrichment activities as a result of the grant awarded to the Caribou School Department. The school department served as the official grant applicant for nine area school systems that are part of the Central Aroostook Council on Education (CACE).
According to David Ouellette, CACE executive director, the equipment will be used to connect classrooms in different parts of the state – or even the world – for educational purposes and to bring students on virtual field trips to museums and other venues across the country. The equipment also will allow educators to connect with consultants and specialists throughout the U.S. for professional development purposes. Because some of this equipment will be located at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, it will also open the door for area high school students to take early college courses remotely, as well as provide for recertification and graduate course opportunities for local teachers.
“CACE is very pleased that this funding is going to allow our members to install brand new, state-of-the-art Tandberg telecommunications equipment in their facilities, which we know will be well utilized in enriching classroom instruction for Aroostook County students,” Ouellette said. “We’re excited about other ways this technology is going to benefit the area. For example, this equipment has the potential to save many travel expenses for CACE educators, who may be able to attend meetings using the equipment instead of having to drive to southern Maine. We look forward to discovering many other uses and benefits this technology is going to offer educators and students once it’s in place.”
CACE, which put together the grant on behalf of the Caribou School Department (the official grant applicant), is a PK-16 partnership consisting of SAD 1, SAD 20, SAD 32, SAD 42, SAD 45, Caribou, Easton, Limestone and UMPI. CACE, which maintains its office space at UMPI, has been in existence for more than 15 years.
Schools receiving the equipment include Caribou High School, Caribou Regional Applied Technology Center, Caribou Middle School, Hilltop Elementary School, Teague Park School, Caribou Alternative School, Mapleton Elementary School, Presque Isle Alternative School, Presque Isle High School, Presque Isle Middle School, Presque Isle Pre-K program, Zippel Elementary School, Pine Street Elementary School, Limestone Community School, Ashland Community High School, Fort Fairfield Elementary School, Fort Fairfield Middle/High School, Central Aroostook Junior/Senior High School, Fort Street Elementary School, Easton Elementary School, Easton High School, Opportunity Training Center and UMPI.
Easton Superintendent Frank Keenan said the Tandberg telecommunication equipment will be a wonderful tool for students and teachers alike.
“The Tandberg equipment is portable. It’s not anchored into a room in the building where it’s fixed and you can’t move it,” he said. “It’s on a cart and can be taken from room to room.
“It should be able to avail people of opportunities to have professional development meetings – or business meetings – without having to spend the money to travel. It also should create opportunities for teachers and school personnel to do their coursework without having to travel … it’s just a matter of getting the professor to offer the course in a room with a Tandberg. Everybody can see each other and talk back and forth. It’s a wonderful piece of technology.”
Keenan said the equipment would also allow the elementary students to forge relationships with students outside the region.
“We have an elementary school teacher whose sister teaches in the Kennebunk school district,” he said. “Right now they have a ‘pen pal’ relationship, but with this technology, they could be ‘class pals.’ The kids would be able to see each other and communicate with one another.
“Teachers could even team-teach with someone that’s not in the building,” said Keenan. “The Tandberg can also project images on a large screen rather than on a computer screen. This will upgrade our capacities significantly. The sky’s the limit on the kinds of things you can do … the potential is truly limitless.”
The other northern Maine grant recipient, Region 2 School of Applied Technology, will utilize funds to connect four central hubs with 12 vocational and technical centers over 11 Maine counties to provide technical skills for post-secondary students and opportunities for instructor-created online curriculum.
Region 2 School of Applied Technology is located in Houlton, and will serve as the coordinating site for 18 participants including the Presque Isle Regional Career and Technical Center, with an enrollment of 350. Other participating sites include St. John Valley Technology Center in Frenchville, Husson University in Bangor, the New England School of Communications in Bangor, Unobskey College in Calais and The Boat School in Eastport.
