Fourth grade students in the East Newton R-6 School District may soon have some new computers, thanks to a grant application.
That announcement came during Thursday’s school board meeting.
“The board approved the submission of an eMINTS grant,” East Newton Superintendent Tanya Vest said. “I think that it is just around $100,000.”
eMINTS is an acronym standing for enhancing Missouri’s Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies. The program encourages both students and teachers to use computers for everything they do in the classrooms, including homework, research and projects.
Vest said the program is for fourth grade students on both Triway and Granby elementary campuses.
“You will have one computer for every two students,” Vest said. “And it includes all of the other technology with it as well. It is teaching with technology, basically.”
The grant has to be submitted in March and, Vest said, if it is approved, funds would come a couple of months later.
“If the grant were approved, we would start the program in August,” said Vest.
Vest said the program is instituted for either third or fourth grade students.
“When I was in Republic, Mo., they started (eMINTS) in the third grade, then they just kind of transitioned it to the fourth grade,” said Vest. “So we are going to put our initial program in the fourth grade, and then use some district money to probably transition it to the fifth grade, eventually, if we get the grant.”
The eMINTS program was originally came about from the University of Missouri-Columbia. The money comes from the state of Missouri.
This is not the first time that the school district has applied for the grant.
“We applied for it last year and did not get it,” said Vest. “We took our review from last year and rewrote the grant.”
In other business, the board awarded lawn maintenance care to Pin Oak Lawn Care for $29,900. This is the first time that the lawn care business has bided for the project. The business will take care of all three of the school district’s campuses for the year.
The board also approved adding four new mobile classrooms.
“One of each will be located on each campus and one will be located at the central office,” Vest said. “The one at the central office will be used for our Parents As Teachers and special education.”
The mobile units, which will include two classrooms in each, will be placed on the campuses by next school year. That will bring the total number of mobile unites up to two at Granby, two at Triway and five at the high school.
