Tech Grant Helps Corpus Christi-Holy Rosary Kids Stay Connected

With a Netbook on every desk and smart boards in most classrooms, kids at Corpus Christi-Holy Rosary School already have an edge when it comes to learning about technology.

A new $10,000 tech grant from Optimum Lightpath will allow classrooms and desks to become even more wired, giving students the tools to correspond with digital pen pals throughout the world and explore new communications technology. The grant was announced Thursday during a press conference by Optimum Lightpath.

Corpus Christi-Holy Rosary was one of five local schools selected to receive the grants from the telecommunications company. It was chosen out of a pool of 44 local schools, earning the nod from a juried panel of experts in technology fields.

"It's quite an honor to have been chosen," said Emily Saunders, a retired grant writer who assists the private school with development.

Students in sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grades will receive webcams to use with their Netbooks, and some classrooms will be outfitted with flat panel monitors.

They'll use the technology for things like virtual tours, teleconferencing and informal communications with students in other parts of the world, including Salesian sister schools.

And for many kids in Port Chester, it's not unusual to see a familiar face from thousands of miles away.

"A lot of the students in the school are themselves from other countries or are the children of parents from other countries, so they have a lot of cultural roots both within and outside the U.S.," Saunders said. "Part of this is to enable families to stay connected."

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