Simpson Elementary Backers Raise Money For Technology

PEACHTREE CORNERS, GA — A successful fundraising campaign by backers of Simpson Elementary School in Peachtree Corners has bankrolled new technology throughout the school.

The campaign, backed by the school's PTA, parents and local businesses, raised more than $32,000 for tech at the school. The funds helped put 45 new Mimio interactive whiteboards in all of the school's classrooms.

The technology gives the school's kindergarten through 5th grade teachers the ability to enhance lessons with interactive learning.

"At Simpson Elementary, we’ve nurtured a long-standing commitment to integrating technology resources into our students daily learning," said Principal Bron Gayna Schmit. "We feel these tools give our teachers the ability to expand their daily lessons with increased content and deeper context that amplifies the relevance of the curriculum for our students."

The capital campaign spanned the 2016-2017 school year and was a centerpiece of the PTA's fundraising efforts. Through parent donations, gift wrap sales and a wildly successful inaugural online auction, parents and school partners raised over $32,000 for the interactive boards.

"The different avenues we used to raise these funds demonstrate the amazing levels of community and family support we are fortunate to have at Simpson Elementary," said PTA co-president Seana McPherson. "An enthusiastic core group of parents originated the online auction idea in the fall and through their diligence and creativity, we raised over $15,000 toward our goal in four short months. The generosity of the Peachtree Corners business community and the enthusiastic support of our families and volunteers has been simply incredible."

The new Mimio Smartboards were fully installed and operational for the opening of the 2017-18 school year.

"The smartboard technology creates the opportunity for every Simpson teacher to take our curriculum to a higher level of student engagement," said Yasaman Dehnavi, Simpson's Teacher of the Year. "The technology is an invaluable resource to augment classroom activities and help createvnew, multi-faceted routes for students to connect to our daily lessons."

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Photo courtesy Simpson Elementary School PTA