Greene County to link five schools with USDA funding
WAYNESBURG – A $456,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will link all five school districts in Greene County to provide a number of health-related and educational opportunities, according to officials with the Greene County Industrial Development Authority. GCIDA received a $456,647 distance learning and telemedicine grant for a collaborative effort to provide user-friendly technologies for the county’s school districts to do more with technology and to develop a Web-based education program.
Bert Menhart, director of special projects for GCIDA, said technology will be provided by Xerox Connect for several “docucenters” that will allow for distance learning programs, enable parents and students to do more and allow districts to collaborate on lesson plans and curriculum. He said parents will be able to access information about their children, such as missed homework assignments, when their children are absent.
The grant also will provide a connection with the county to develop a health information network and a health and human services network, and GCIDA will work with Greene County Memorial Hospital on diabetes treatment and prevention activities. Menhart said the Penn State Cooperative Extension also will be involved in the collaborative effort.
“There are an awful lot opportunities to help the community,” he said. “We are trying to foster collaboration and make the schools a social and resource center.”
Menhart said the “docucenters” will be housed at a Greene County government office at each of the five school districts and at the developing EverGreene Technology Park in Franklin Township.
Under the telemedicine heading of the grant, treatment and health activities can be done through teleconferencing equipment at each of the sites, along with conferences on various health issues.
GCIDA board Chairman Dr. Charles Rembold said the grant can create more educational opportunities for Greene County students young and old, and it also will lay the groundwork for a possible cyber charter school, should the authority take that route.
He said teachers can develop Web-based courses, and administrators and instructors from all districts, along with Waynesburg College and Westmoreland County Community College, can work together on online learning.
He commended the GCIDA team for their work in securing the grant money and said the authority is continuing to expand the technology available in the county. He said the key piece, EverGreene, is continuing to move forward while other ideas are pursued.
“They have put together some great stuff, and I think this is one of the most functional teams I have ever seen in Greene County,” Rembold said.
According to a release from USDA, 71 grants were awarded to sites in 19 states, totaling more than $27 million to provide educational opportunities and medical services to rural citizens in 33 states.