Uniontown Area High School launches Classrooms for the Future program
On Thursday, local dignitaries will visit Uniontown Area High School to “Flip the Switch,” officially launching its Classrooms for the Future program. The high school was awarded an $188,223 Classrooms for the Future grant from the state Department of Education to transform its English, math, science and social studies classrooms. The grant afforded the high school eight carts of laptop computers with 25 laptops in each cart, a laptop for each teacher of the core subject areas, an interactive white board and a mounted projector.
The equipment arrived at the school in March and teachers are off and running with new project-based learning lessons, according to Helen Snaith, Classrooms for the Future coach and former Uniontown Area High School librarian. She said the equipment has drastically changed the way teachers are teaching and the way students learn.
“The teachers and students are excited” about the program, added Snaith, noting that “Classrooms for the Future” are the buzzwords around the school.
The event begins with a continental breakfast and an overview of the technology program. Students will serve as tour guides, escorting invited guests into the classrooms to see Classrooms for the Future teachers and students in action. Invited guests include state Sen. Richard Kasunic, D-Dunbar, state representatives Deberah Kula, D-North Union Twp., Tim Mahoney, D-South Union Twp., and Peter Daley, D-California, as well as Uniontown Area School Board members, local government officials and representatives of local colleges and universities. The event is by invitation only.
Now in its third year, Classrooms for the Future is Gov. Edward G. Rendell’s initiative to put a laptop computer on every high school English, math, science and social studies desk and to provide teachers with a multimedia workstation and intensive training to enhance education.
By the end of the current school year, Classrooms for the Future’s $155 million investment will have reached almost 500,000 students and purchased more than 140,000 laptops, state officials said.