GLPIEF Awards Grant for New Technology

Amid cheers and applause, Maryann White, President of the Greater Latrobe Partners in Education Foundation (GLPIEF), formally presented the organization’s first-ever grant award in the amount of $226,000 to the Greater Latrobe School District (GLSD) at the School Board meeting on May 14. The grant funding will purchase and install fully integrated digital technology in every classroom at the Junior High.

“Our Board made a promise to the community to be good stewards of every dollar contributed to the Foundation,” said White. “Tonight, we are holding true to that promise by ensuring Greater Latrobe Junior High students have access to cutting-edge technology that will improve their educational outcomes and maintain a competitive edge in a global environment.”

The grant is a direct result of early success achieved through the A+ Campaign for Greater Latrobe School District. White said the Foundation has only recently completed the leadership phase of the campaign and over half of the campaign objective has already been committed. This led the Board to vote for immediate funding of the GLOBAL Classrooms Initiative, one of the original purposes of the campaign.

“Our Foundation Board members felt it was important to honor the intention of our early donors by immediately funding GLOBAL Classrooms at the Junior High,” White said, “but in no way should this imply the campaign is over. We still have a long way to go if we are to reach the goals we originally set out to achieve.”

When finished, the GLOBAL Classrooms Initiative will fully integrate all 125 classrooms in the District with interactive white boards, student response systems, and document cameras. The other two campaign goals include assisting with the development of an athletic and wellness complex at the Junior/Senior High School campus and renovating the Junior High entrance and main building corridor to provide a flexible space for the Junior High art collection, modeled after the Center for Student Creativity at the Senior High School.

Judy Swigart, GLSD Superintendent of Schools, said the campaign was strategically designed to impact academics, the arts and athletics, which she considers the three most critical areas for an effective learning experience.

“We are so thankful for the outpouring of support from our community and the commitment of the Greater Latrobe Partners In Education Foundation,” Swigart said. “This grant will make every classroom at the Junior High a GLOBAL Classroom before the start of the next school year, but ultimately our goal is to have this technology in every classroom in the district.”

GLPIEF is an independent, non-profit organization recently formed to provide philanthropic opportunities for individuals, organizations and businesses to strategically support GLSD students beyond the means of conventional public funding. White said the Foundation expects to raise in excess of $3 million through the A+ Campaign. The Board of Directors is working closely with School District leaders to ensure that every dollar raised is being used to improve GLSD.

“A first-class public school system doesn’t only serve its students, it serves the best interest of all Greater Latrobe residents,” White said. “In this economy, though, our public school system can no longer do it alone. It will take the collective will of the community to keep Greater Latrobe at the forefront of our country’s educational institutions. The A+ Campaign is our first step in creating an ongoing partnership for success.”