Technology to advance in Mundelein District 75 with grants, loans

Cost cuts have permeated the atmosphere in Mundelein Elementary District 75, but a one-time opportunity has instilled excitement in troubled times.

With a variety of grants, including federal stimulus dollars and a low-interest state loan, the four-school elementary district is about take a technological leap.

The district will spend $636,000 on laptops, white boards and other equipment to bring itself up to speed technologically and broaden the learning curve for students.

"It's a very big deal for the schools. The teachers are ecstatic," said Christy Hunter, a fifth-grade teacher at Lincoln School and co-president of the Mundelein Elementary Education Association.

Cobbling together a variety of grants and other resources, such as a low-interest state loan, the district recently authorized the purchase of 370 MacBook laptops and software, 84 interactive white boards (one for each classroom), 57 LCD projectors, several computer charging carts and other supplies.

The purchases are the heart of a so-called 21st Century learning environment that has been under study for about two years.

"We're using the stimulus funding, (and) we're not allowed to use it to hire staff because we could not sustain it," said Superintendent Cynthia Heidorn.

"It has to be one-time purchases."

About $860,000 has been whittled from the 2010-11 budget, including the release of more than a dozen teachers.

But the new equipment, which will replace 1990s-era computers, has given teachers and others something positive to anticipate.

All students will have access to the Internet, and the technology will allow them to produce work that involves Power Point presentations or Excel spread sheets, for example.

"Just things they need to be learning about and be successful when they grow up," Hunter said. "The learning is that much more real and hands-on."

Rather than individual students doing a written report on a given subject, for example, a class could be divided into groups and collaborate on video productions on the topic.

"They will be more significantly engaged in their instructional programs," Heidorn said. "It will help us bring more 21st Century workplace skills into the classroom."

For the first few months of 2010, Hunter had an interactive white board in her classroom as a test program for the district.

"It really was a loss when it went away," she said. "That's what kids in my class said, `This is the coolest thing.'"