West Elementary gets new computers
By Staff
Melissa Dozier-Cason, FCT Writer
Russellville's West Elementary School is the proud owner of 19 new computers.
Nine of the new computers were purchased with funds from the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO). The balance for the other 10 computers came from the school's technology fund Principal Ramon Robinson said.
The new computers will replace older models in various classrooms. The computers have been delivered and should be seen in classrooms starting next week, Robinson said.
"The PTO has been saving for a while to get new computers for the classrooms," Robinson said. "Two years ago the PTO purchased new computers for the computer lab."
The PTO has various fundraisers throughout the year to help provide the school with essentials so ensure the children have a quality education, PTO representative Dawn James said.
Along with the new computers, the school purchased a new cart and laptop so that teachers can use PowerPoint presentations in the classroom. The next big PTO project is to install SMARTboards in every classroom, and it is the school's goal to purchase an E.L.M.O. – an overhead projector that projects from regular sheets of paper instead of transparent sheets, Robinson said.
"Our PTO keeps us on the cutting edge of technology," Robinson said.
The PTO has several fundraisers for the school including Swamp John's and the Fall Festival every year.
Other than keeping the school up to date with technology, the PTO also acts as a service organization to help the teachers and staff. One example is the Duty Free Lunch for the teachers.
Every other Friday, PTO members monitor the children during their lunch so that the teachers can have some free time to eat lunch elsewhere or to just have time to themselves, James said.
The PTO also has Holloman's Heroes, a program to reward students who benchmark on the No Child Left Behind assessment called DIBELS.
"Every child in the school gets a special treat for their hard work, and those who benchmark receive an extra special treat for their efforts. This is a continuing thing every nine weeks," James said.
This nine weeks Holloman's Heroes were given popcorn and water as a special snack.
For more information on how you can get involved with West Elementary's PTO, call the school at 331-2122.
