Grant Elementary School students in grades K-2 will soon have access to new computer equipment, the result of a site-level decision to supplement ongoing technological upgrades throughout the district.
The school's Parent Teacher Association is furnishing money for 36 new Apple iMacs — three each for the 12 total kindergarten and first- and second-grade classrooms.
The machines will replace what interim Grant principal Wendy Wax Gellis called "very outdated" equipment, much of which was acquired years ago from Edison Language Academy in used condition.
The incoming computers complement technological improvements at other school sites in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District through the Measure ES initiative.
At the elementary level, the initiative focuses on classroom, lab and library upgrades for students in grades 3-5.
"We said, ‘What can we do that supplements that, that piggy-backs on that?'" Grant PTA president Greg Barker said.
PTA members at the approximately 650-student school, located at 2368 Pearl St., were asked to brainstorm and discuss their financial priorities at the school's first PTA meeting of the school year.
They voiced support for upgrading technological equipment at the lower grade levels as well and ultimately settled on new K-2 computers, the funding for which was approved at the general PTA meeting in early November.
Although the district recently centralized fundraising for instructional aids, professional development and other personnel expenditures through the education foundation, school PTA groups can still use local funds for equipment and capital projects. They're allowed to buy stuff, not staff.
"We said, ‘Let's see if we can do something to help (the lower) grades," Barker said. "We looked at capital purchases that fit the priorities that our parents identified. The district is doing amazing job of improving technology, and we saw a place where we could augment that."
According to Barker, the Grant PTA opted specifically for iMacs after consulting with teachers who said they are graphic-friendly and easy for young learners to use.
The Grant PTA will pay about $53,280 for the new desktops, including about $1,760 in finance charges. The funding includes taxes and fees for recycling electronic waste, according to a district memo.
The association's "very generous" gift involves a two-year lease-to-buy option, Gellis said.
About half of the money has been transferred to the district and the remainder will be furnished at the beginning of the 2015-16 school year, according to a December letter from Barker to SMMUSD officials.
The school's technology supervisor, Santiago Martinez, declined to comment and referred questions to the district office.
Contact Jeff Goodman by phone at 310-573-8351, via email at jeff@www.smdp.com or on Twitter.
