Budget Cuts Leave Fisher School To Raise Money For Technology

Budget cuts in Minnesota are a problem for schools, especially in small towns. This means towns like Fisher are having to come up with more creative ways to raise money for things like technology. Tonight the school was unusually busy for a Saturday, as students, teachers, and parents came out for a Technology Showcase. This showcase was also a unique fundraiser, as the school is trying to bring more technology into the classrooms. Tonight students were the teachers, as they showed their parents the technology they use in the classroom. They played math games on ActivBoards and demonstrated typing and book programs on computers.

"You click on your name and then you put in your password. You can do books from the library or books from your reading," said Fourth Grader Sophia Love.

Teachers say technology like this makes learning more fun for students. That's why 90 percent of them, and about 50 students, came out tonight to show parents why the school needs more items like ActivBoards, projectors, and graphing calculators.

"[It] promotes engagement within the classroom. It gets the kids involved. It's more for them than the teachers," said Special Education Teacher Cristin Van Kirk

Teachers have even been able to take students inside an Ely, Minnesota bear cave through technology. Second grade teacher Sandy Hlady and her students watch a bear cub and its mother on a projector screen. There's a camera set up in the cave.

"We're seeing firsthand the interaction between a cub and her mother, and it's so wonderful," said Hlady.

The school has raised $2,600 so far. Teachers hope to put an ActivBoard and projector in each classroom. But with ActivBoards costing more than $1,400 each and projectors about $600, it's an expensive undertaking.

"We realize that ActivBoards and projectors in each classroom is aggressive, but it's something we would like to do over the next several years," said Van Kirk.

The Fisher Fire Department was also at the school tonight for its Annual Fireman's Pig Roast, which brought more people to the school.

Tags: reporter stories, renee chmiel, fisher, technology, budget cuts, school, education, minnesota, news