The Ardmoreite 05/20/2015

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Greenville embracing new technology with grant

The Ardmoreite

G r e e nvi l l e
Pu b l ic
Schools will join the
growing one-to-one technology trend next school
year thanks to a grant
from the Oklahoma Education Technology Trust.
The Love County
school district was one
of 22 schools in the
state awarded a grant.
Each school will receive
$40,000 to purchase new
technology equipment
for their classrooms and
$25,000 to cover professional teacher development training. The training is designated to aid
teachers in learning how
to integrate the new technologies into classroom
learning.
Greenville Superintendent Jason Midkiff said
the district will use the
funding to become a oneto-one district. Each student will have a tablet or
laptop to use daily at the
prekindergarten through
eighth grade school.
The mission of the
Oklahoma Educational
Technology Trust is to
equip Oklahoma common
and CareerTech students
with the technology and
technological skills nec-

school
Continued from Page 1A

with real-world connections.

Wallis describes the program as offering guidance
to teachers and is flexible.
The teacher determines
which lessons to relate it
to the real world like
the quotes discussed each
week in her classroom.
There are a lot of opportunities to integrate
Great Expectations practices into every aspect
of teaching, Wallis says.
Once it has been integrated, you practice it
each day for it to be mas-

Greenville teachers Patty Bates, Kellie Morgan, Tracy Doolan and Superintendent
Jason Midkiff hold the grant certificate awarded by the Oklahoma Education
Technology Trust. The district was awarded $65,000 from the trust to purchase
tablets and laptop computers for the Love County school. Photo Submitted

essary to compete in the

global marketplace.
OETT is creating
long-term change for
the benefit of Oklahomas
students, said Dr. Phil
Berkenbile, OETT Board
of Trustees chair. A total
of 229 Oklahoma schools
have received OETT

grants since they were

first awarded in 2003,
and OETT grants have
impacted technology in
the classrooms of more
than 92,000 students.
Additionally, more than
8,350 teachers, principals, superintendents
and administrators have

received professional development training to assist students with the new

technology. These educators have been trained on
the best practices of highachieving schools and integrating technology into
classroom curriculum.

tered.
In the fall of 2013, Ken
Willy joined the Oak Hall
staff as headmaster. Prior
to his arrival at Oak Hall,
he had not worked at a
Great Expectations model
school, but was impressed
by Oak Halls commitment
to the program.
You know when you are
in a Great Expectations
school, Willy says. The
students are confident.
You knock on a classroom
door. A student comes to
greet you and brings you
into the classroom to be
introduced.
Willy said the practices
and teachings of Great
Expectations matched

what many private and

religious schools aim to
teach positive attitudes,
leadership, manners and
academic excellence.
To be named a model school, 90 percent of
teachers must successfully
implement 100 percent
of the 17 practices daily.
Teachers are vital to the
success of the Great Expectation program, but
students also play a big
part. The program becomes familiar and part
of every day school life as
they advance through the
grades, says Willy.
What it does is get everyone on the same page,
knowing the same lan-

guage and the same expectations, Willy said.

Willis says the classroom climate has been
positively impacted since
she began practicing the
Great Expectations program. She describes the
climate as one of mutual
respect from students,
teachers and staff.
Truly what I love about
Great Expectations is the
character characteristics,
Willis says. They are not
just for the classroom, but
life concepts that we are
teaching the students.

meeting
Continued from Page 1A

The council is wanting more research

and more studies, ONeal said. My deal
is trying to save the city some money. We

5a

state

No charges in demolition contracts

of Tar Creek site
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Charges wont be filed
against members of a public board after an apparent
low bidder was passed over for demolition work on
the Tar Creek Superfund cleanup site.
Spokesman Aaron Cooper for the Oklahoma attorney generals office said Monday that it reviewed an
audit examining the award of demolition work on the
site and didnt find any evidence to support criminal
charges. Attorney General Scott Pruitt also ordered
the state auditors office not to release its findings, The
Oklahoman reported.
At issue are the contracts for work on northeast
Oklahoma properties, which were contaminated by
decades of lead and zinc mining. The Lead-Impacted
Communities Relocation Assistance Trust was established to offer relocation assistance to property owners
and oversee demolition work.
Businesses have sued the trust, challenging the
fairness of its actions. In May 2010, a Rogers County
judge ruled that the trust violated the state Opening
Meeting Act and improperly awarded a $2.1 million
demolition contract to a Miami, Oklahoma, company.
That company had submitted a bid more than triple
the $558,988 submitted by apparent low bidder DT
specialized Services, which had filed a civil lawsuit
after being snubbed for the contract.
Attorney Andy Lester for the trust characterized the
lower bids as nonresponsive and noncompliant
and said thats why they werent picked. The trust
rebid the project after the judges ruling. A different
company called CWF was the low bidder the second
time around and was awarded the contract.
Lester said he thought the attorney general made
the right decision in directing the auditor not to
release his findings. He compared it to a grand jury
keeping details of an investigation secret when it
decides no indictment is warranted.

robber
Continued from Page 1A

the store at the time of the shopping spree that turned

into the armed robbery.
The robber ran eastbound as he made his getaway
on foot.
The robber is described as a white male, 40 to 50
years old, 5-feet 6-inches to 5-feet 8-inches tall and
weighing an estimated 155 to 175 pounds. He has a few
days growth of a beard, and was wearing a dark shirt,
jeans, work boots, and a red bandana under a ball cap
on his head.
Anyone with information concerning the identity or
the whereabouts of the robber is urged to call police
headquarters at (580) 223-1212.

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