A small misunderstanding in reading a letter played a very big part in helping win Aberdeen Elementary a $250,000 grant from the North Carolina Technology Association.

The letter eventually worked its way into the hands of Sandra Florell, Aberdeen Elementary's media coordinator, who worked with other teachers on submitting an application to show how they would improve technology at the school.

She thought students should have writing buddies, people from the community who would come to the school to tutor them or write letters to them as part of a pen pal program.

“Hearing that their scores were the lowest in the county impassioned me to do something to bring those up,” she said. “Just knowing that that didn't have to be. ... We needed to call on technology to see what we could do to help bring those (scores) up,” she said, helped motivate her to submit the application.

“Children who come from low-income socio-economic families and communities do no not have the luxury of exploring the world around them, and this tool could benefit them in so many ways,” she wrote in the application.

Florell sent the application off just before the March 11 deadline. Weeks later, word came from NCTA that Aberdeen was one of the finalists for the grant.

As it turned out, the county could provide the resources necessary to handle a large influx of equipment, including a help desk and broadband technology.

In May, a woman from NCTA came for a site visit to see the condition of the school, to check the existing technology and support, and to meet with the staff.

“I guess the most nerve-wracking part of that interview was, she sat down and said we were one of two finalist for a $250,000 grant,” Florell said.

Celebrations were muffled over summer vacation while Florell took stock of the changes that were going to come to Aberdeen. This week, the work begins on getting the grant put in place. All of the planning Florell put into the grant is paying off.

“It's starting to feel overwhelming,” she says as she plans new equipment wish lists and models for the computer programs in the Family Resource Center.

The amount of money that will be pumped into the school through NCTA will significantly change the school's landscape, she said, but with some carefully structured growth.

Computer labs will be set up. Future plans call for buying SMART boards, digital cameras, digital projectors, color printers, new software and DVD players in every classroom.

Aberdeen could be used by the county as a model for future technology centers, said Jim Tagliareni, chief information officer for the school system.

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