Laptop Initiative Nears Fundraising Goal

By Tammy DanielsPrint Story | Email Story
Sen. Benjamin Downing, Mayor John Barrett III, chamber President Michael Supranowicz and MCLA Vice President James Stakenas.
NORTH ADAMS - With a flourish, Wal-Mart representatives handed a ceremonial check for $10,000 to the Berkshire Wireless Learning Initiative on Wednesday morning at Conte Middle School, bringing the pilot program to within $30,000 of its fundraising goal. Established with a $2 million challenge grant from the Legislature in 2004, the $5.3 million initiative seeks to ensure each middle schooler receives an Apple laptop computer. An estimated 2,300 students in sixth through eighth grade at Conte and at Herberg, Reid and St. Mark middle schools in Pittsfield, and their teachers, were given laptops, beginning in January 2006. Raising the final funding completes the three-year program. "Not only is this helping to prepare the work force down the road and to further their educations, it's also reaching kids that probably wouldn't have stayed in school," said Mayor John Barrett III, who also is chairman of the School Committee. "This contribution from the Wal-Mart Corp. is going to make a significant difference." The donation is above and beyond funding provided by the two local Wal-Mart stores. "Wal-Mart has been an excellent corporate citizen in Berkshire County," said the mayor. The city will match the Wal-Mart grant, leading the mayor to joke that Pittsfield Mayor James M. Ruberto needed to come up with some more money. Also on hand at the ceremony were Superintendent of Schools James Montepare, Pittsfield Deputy Superindentent Howard Jacob "Jake" Eberwein, Berkshire Chamber of Commerce President Michael Supranowicz, state Sen. Benjamin B. Downing, D-Pittsfield, James Stakenas, vice president of administration and finance at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and a host of other officials from organizations partnered in the initiative. "We're dedicated to making sure the future of our company does get a good education," said Wal-Mart marketing manager Mark Warren. "Sam and Helen Walton were, and their son [S. Robson "Rob" Walton, Wal-Mart chairman] continues to be, very strong on education. They've donated a lot of their money to education to develop programs just like this. What you all are doing here is just fabulous. I hope it does spread thoughout the country. What an opportunity for children." The donation apparently came about between Warren and state Rep. Daniel E. Bosley, D-North Adams, on what Wal-Mart could do to help Berkshire County. Bosley, chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technology, has been a strong supporter of the project. With the Berkshire delegation, he led the charge to overturn then Gov. Mitt Romney's veto of the initiative's funding. How well the initiative is working is difficult to measure. The success is still anecdotal - officials have plenty of stories about better communication between teachers and students and students more engaged in their school work. The primary goal has been to change the way education is delivered to an increasingly tech-savvy population. MCLA offers professional development courses for teachers to aid them in integrating the laptops into their curriculum. Montepare said the school district is anxiously awaiting scores from the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests to see if the initiative has had an effect. While it may still be too early to see long-term benefits, the school district is committed to continuing the program at the middle school level and beyond - Drury High School is now a wireless zone. "We will have 400 computers ready when the kids roll through the door" on the first day at Conte, said Montepare. "This is a model that can be replicated in different communities across the state, but we can do it better than anybody else," said Downing. "There's something special about the Berkshires when it comes to the willingness of businesses to step up to the plate ... They're all willing to step up to the plate for a worthy cause." The wireless initiative is a partnership between the cities, the state, MCLA, Berkshire Connect, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation and local businesses. Tammy Daniels can be reached at tdaniels@iberkshires.com
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SteepleCats Shut Out on Road

iBerkshires.com Sports
MONTPELIER, Vt. -- Four Vermont pitchers combined to strike out 11 and allow four hits Tuesday as the Mountaineers beat the North Adams SteepleCats, 11-0, in New England Collegiate Baseball League action.
 
Evan Meier, Bobby Stang, Tonny Woodie and Chris Diaz each had a hit for the SteepleCats, who used five pitchers in the loss.
 
North Adams (0-2) comes home Tuesday to host the Mystic Schooners at 6:30 p.m. at Joe Wolfe Field.
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