Farmington Public Schools Receives Technology Grant

 Press Release

Release Date:  December 10, 2013

The Farmington Board of Education Announce the Receipt of $350,000

Technology Grant from the State of Connecticut to Accelerate

Farmington’s Innovative Technology Plan

In a recent press release, Governor Dannel P. Malloy announced plans to fund grant requests to bring more computers into classrooms and increase Internet bandwidth in Connecticut.  According to the press release, the investment provides vital support to students, teachers, and school districts as local efforts accelerate to complete the transition to the Common Core State Standards and the accompanying computer-based Smarter Balanced assessments. 

The Farmington Public Schools applied for the grant to support the school district’s continued implementation of the Farmington Board of Education’s Technology Plan.  The Farmington Public Schools will receive $351,458 in grant funding from the State of Connecticut to accelerate Farmington Board of Education’s Technology Plan and support the school district in infusing technology across content areas and grade levels.  The Board of Education’s Technology Plan provides a roadmap for ensuring all students have access to 21st century learning environments each day. The funds will be utilized to increase technology access and continue to strengthen the school district’s technology infrastructure. 

Over the course of the last four years, Farmington administration and the Board of Education have set a vision for technology integration into curriculum, instruction and assessment.  This grant funding will bring the district closer to that vision. 

Board Chair Mary Grace Reed expressed appreciation for the Grant, saying, “Superintendent Greider and Ted Lindquist have provided exceptional leadership in developing and implementing the Board of Education’s Technology Plan over the past 5 years.  The Farmington Board of Education has been focused on securing funding to support their Technology Plan, which includes computers and wireless connectivity in all schools across the District.  We have made headway in the past 2 years but with this additional funding we are much closer to being fully prepared for the mandatory implementation of on-line state testing for students beginning in 2014.  We are grateful to Gov. Malloy for making these additional funds available to Farmington, this money will go a long way in Farmington. 

Superintendent Greider states, “The school district was able to apply for this grant because Farmington had a comprehensive and forward-thinking Technology Plan that addressed infrastructure and technology needs across the school district.  In addition, the Board of Education’s collaborative work with Town Council in the funding of technology also assisted the school district in putting together a comprehensive grant application that reflected the current needs of the school district.  The grant funds will help accelerate our Technology Plan so that the school district continues to infuse technology across all classrooms and schools.”