Every regular education
classroom in School District 153 will be equipped with SMART Board technology thanks to a $30,000 grant awarded to Foundation 153, the district's education foundation. The SMART Board grant was awarded to Foundation 153 as part of the Chicago Sun-Times Charity Trust's Sun Shine Project.
"Foundation 153 receives many requests each year from District 153 teachers for new and exciting classroom technologies like SMART boards, but the cost too often has been prohibitive. We are tremendously grateful to have this opportunity to fulfill more of these requests so that more of our students have access to this truly engaging educational tool," said Foundation 153 President Alex Bosch.
Between the new grant money and the school district's previously devised plan to lease additional SMART boards, all of the school district's regular education classrooms will be equipped by the end of the school year, according to Beth White, Director of Technology for School District 153.
"Our goal was to equip all regular classrooms over the next few years, as the budget would allow. We could have never even hoped to accomplish it this school year without Foundation 153 and the Sun Shine Project," said White.
SMART boards, a type of interactive white board, are replacing traditional whiteboards, chalkboards or flipcharts in schools across the country. Teachers love them because the boards greatly increase the level of student engagement in classroom lessons. SMART boards are especially good for students who benefit from repetition, struggling learners, and those who have been absent from school because teachers can record their instruction for later and/or repeated review by students.
The Sun-Times Charitable Trust donated a total of $500,000 via its Sun Shine Project to charities in the Chicago region that support youth in education, art, and civic engagement. Winning organizations were chosen based partially on the number of online votes and comments posted by visitors to the project's website. Foundation 153's project submission, "SMART Boards for Smart Kids," received 491 votes and 263 online comments placing it near the top of all submissions.
"Thank you to everyone who went online to vote and comment! It was inspiring to see the community get behind this idea and support it the way it did," said Foundation 153 Board Member Drew Senesac, who submitted the SMART board proposal for consideration. "When enough of us adults exert just a little bit of energy, we can accomplish really important things for the kids in our community." | 
