SALEM – Following in the footsteps of their counterparts at Piscataquis Community High School in Guilford, Mount Abram High School students can look forward to having laptops next year.

Although a final decision will be made at the SAD 58 board meeting on June 15, Principal Jeanne Tucker is hopeful that the program will go through. She said the school board was very supportive of the idea when it was first introduced several weeks ago.

The school already has laptops for all 24 teachers, and the building has been updated to provide wireless Internet access.

In a telephone interview last week, Tucker said that she and several school board members and staff had visited the Guilford high school to see how the laptops were working there.

They saw how students used multimedia programs, built-in graphing calculators and scientific probes that connect to computers for scientific data-gathering.

Students at Mount Abram will also be able to use portfolio software to track their personal school work and learning plans.

“Studies from Piscataquis’ experience has shown that kids get very engaged by electronic learning. Attendance increased, behavior issues decreased and academic performance increased,” she said.

The school’s technology coordinator, Angel Allen, figured out how to combine federal funds and other resources to lease iBook laptops from Apple Corp. for four years.

Assuming the state does not begin a high school laptop program next year, Allen calculated that 350 iBooks could be obtained for the school for $122,000.

The school’s staff and school board are still trying to clarify what will happen fiscally if and when the state begins providing laptops for high school students, as they already have for middle schoolers.

Tucker was quick to point out, however, that the total amount would not come entirely from the school budget, and that the district’s financial commitment to the program will be kept at a manageable level.

Here’s how it would work: The first year, much of the funding would come from a variety of grants for federal education and technology funding. Students will also be charged a technology fee of about $150 annually. At the end of four years, students would own their computers. At a total purchase price of $600, students will graduate owning a computer. Student who cannot afford the technology fee or choose not to pay it will still have use of a computer during their years at Mount Abram, but they would not own the computers when they leave.

And the laptop program is already providing an educational opportunity for a group of five juniors and seniors who will train with assistant technology coordinator Sean Tennent this summer. This group will become the school’s help desk to trouble-shoot any computer problems that may arise.

jhausen@sunjournal.com

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