Last month, parents at Orem Elementary watched their school skyrocket into the top 5 in a text vote-driven contest for a $50,000 grant from Clorox. But realizing they were not going to capture the grand prize, they tried Plan B.
And they won an even bigger reward.
On Thursday, Orem Elementary Principal Rachelle Bolingbroke announced to students that their school has won a $100,000 grant from Target Corp. Several parents nominated Orem in the contest, which was promoted by the Ellen DeGeneres Show. Viewers of the show helped pick 50 schools nationwide to receive a $100,000 grant. Orem is the only winner in Utah.
"Students are so excited," Bolingbroke said Friday. "The energy is electrifying right now."
Target plans to present the giant check at an assembly on Monday.
The school plans to spend the money on technology, including buying about 35 to 40 computers for a second computer lab. The lab was built as part of an addition to the school a few years ago, but the school has not had enough funds to buy the computers.
An existing lab with 40 computers is used daily for a rotating computer specialty class. A second lab, Bolingbroke said, is needed both to provide more classroom time with computers and to handle year-end testing. This year, Alpine School District plans to administer all standard exams in math, language arts and science via computers. Orem Elementary has more than 600 students.
Julie Hale, a parent of a second- and a fourth-grader at Orem Elementary, wrote the winning grant nomination. When her kids learned the news, they told her, "You’re going to be famous," she said with a laugh.
"I was totally shocked and overwhelmed," Hale said. She said her school’s population nearly meets federal requirements to be classified as Title I because of poverty. Without the classification, Orem Elementary does not receive federal Title I funding that flows to nearby schools.
"You often see two to three kids huddled up around one computer," Hale said. "Right now [the second lab is] a room, fully set up, with all the cables and desks — but no computers. It’s ready and waiting."
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/53391991-78/orem-computers-elementary-grant.html.csp
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