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Officials from QAD joined with educators and members of the community at Aliso Elementary School in Carpinteria on Wednesday to announce a series of grants to support technology improvements and teacher innovation programs in local schools.
QAD’s Project Upgrade program provided $50,000 in funding, split between Aliso Elementary, Canalino Elementary and Carpinteria Family School. Additionally, QAD provided $8,000 in funding for the Santa Barbara County Education Office Teachers Network Program to support innovative teachers who make good use of technologies as teaching tools with students throughout the county.
“QAD focuses its giving on the intersection of children, education and technology, and created Project Upgrade to support schools in their critical work preparing students for successful lives in the modern economy,” said Murray Ray, chief people officer of QAD. “We believe the strength of our community and the future of our economic health as a nation depends on a strong system of public education, and we are pleased to again support our schools in this way.”
County Superintendent Bill Cirone expressed strong appreciation for QAD’s support of local schools.
“QAD is to be saluted for its foresight and judgment in helping provide vital resources for our future workers and leaders,” Cirone said. “The investment in our community reflects the company’s value system along with its expertise.”
Carpinteria Superintendent of Schools Paul Cordeiro stressed how important it is for schools to stay on the cutting edge to prepare students for post-secondary education.
“In Carpinteria, our schools are committed to preparing every student to succeed after high school graduation,” he said. “Their use of the very best technology tools is essential to that success. We could not be more thankful for QAD’s very generous support.”
QAD’s Project Upgrade grants help support technology infrastructure and improvements in local schools, which are invited to apply each year. Applications are reviewed by a committee of QAD employees who also determine the final awardees.
Aliso Elementary received $22,940 to help the school place classroom projectors, teacher laptops and document cameras in every classroom and to upgrade computers and systems used by students. Canalino Elementary was awarded $24,600, which will enable the school to buy seven sets of classroom iPads and train teachers in research-proven methods to use these technologies as highly effective teaching tools. Carpinteria Family School was also awarded $2,460 to enable the purchase of three interactive whiteboards.
In addition to the Project Upgrade grants, the Santa Barbara County Education Office Teachers Network Program was awarded $8,000 to fund QAD TeachNet programs that support teachers who are innovative leaders in effectively using technologies and the Internet to support student learning and success.
— Wendy Shelton for the Santa Barbara County Education Office.
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