15 Feb Labette County School District 506 Receives Grant for $501,956 from USDA DTL
Labette County School District 506 (USD 506) recently received a grant for $501,956 from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DTL) to implement specific technology upgrades which will allow USD 506 to address the economic, geographic, educational, and health services issues that Labette County students and their families face. The technology will improve connectivity and ensure students can receive both the academic and mental health support they need. The technology USD 506 Labette County upgrades will also facilitate professional development, continuing education, and collaboration among USD 506 educators, further improving the overall quality of education and student outcomes.
The proposed addition of laptops for all USD 506 teachers and smartboards and telecommunications stations at all our USD 506 end-user sites will enable additional crossbuilding instruction, allowing educators to benefit from their colleague’s content knowledge. USD 506 will continue to supplement learning through our outstanding partnerships with Greenbush and LCC to bring in additional instructors and enrichment offerings for more of our youth. These partnerships will extend distance learning and advance science and math offerings deeper in our elementary schools.
The telecommunications system proposed will provide new video conferencing between teachers and students and expand the district’s technology infrastructure. Equipment to be procured includes teacher and student laptop computers and peripheral equipment (headsets, monitors, carts, and charging cords), Smartboards and televisions that work in conjunction with laptops running video conferencing sessions and mounting solutions, video conferencing systems with expansion microphones to support communication between host and end users when large groups are participating in sessions, subscriptions and licenses to video conferencing solutions (e.g. Zoom), and online curriculum components that enhance instruction.
USD 506 joins thousands of school districts nationwide that are simultaneously creating and implementing online instruction strategies. Our district embarked upon the pursuit of the USDA RUS DLT grant knowing we faced barriers to connectivity. We did not realize how soon we would be living our statement of need as the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the Kansas governor to close all schools for the remainder of the 2019-20 academic year. Our district lacks the ability to launch equitable online instruction that offers livestream connections between students and teachers as well as teachers and teachers. Our southeast Kansas region already faced barriers from economic, geographic, educational, and health challenges. The need to equip and offer students and faculty virtual connection is absolutely critical due to limited mobility and accessibility.
Youth from rural southeast Kansas face barriers to engaging in activities that expose them to 21st century skills and that relate to a real-world work environment. This may prevent them from learning about other industries and sectors. Left without knowledge about what else might be possible, they may have no other choice but to follow the job choices of the preceding generation, i.e. “my dad worked there, and so I will too.” With awareness and exposure to puruse opportunities available to them, such as the ACT Work Ready program, they may still choose to follow the same career path of the previous generation, but at least they have choices.
USD 506 is in the southeast corner of Kansas, within 15 miles of the Oklahoma border. The district encompasses 500 square miles and includes the census rural towns of Altamont, Bartlett, Edna, Mound Valley, and rural areas of Parsons, Kansas. The following elementary schools serve youth in grades K-8: Altamont Grade School serves 233 students, Bartlett Grade School serves 123 students, Meadow View Grade School serves 377 students, Mound Valley Grade School serves 162, and Edna Grade School serves 176 students. The high school serves 487 students (Kansas State Department of Education, 2019-20 school year). The district employs approximately 250 teachers/faculty who will benefit from the project. The total number of students, teachers, parents, and community residents to be impacted by this project is projected to be 4,500. This includes approximately 1,550 students, 250 faculty, and 2,700 parents/guardians.