(From the Laurinburg Exchange)
Rep. Larry Kissell says he supports the announcement that the BRAC Regional Task Force will receive a grant of $800,000 from the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the Division of Workforce Development (DWD) as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds received by the state of North Carolina. The grant is part of the JobsNOW Initiative.
“The BRAC expansion will have an enormous impact on the area surrounding Fort Bragg including many counties in the Eighth District,” Kissell said. “I am glad the state of North Carolina recognizes how important this will be for our state, and has granted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to help with improving the technology in the schools affected by this expansion. This type of funding is one of the reasons I voted for the Recovery Act.”
The grant expands technology in 11 pilot high schools and includes a fixed i3D theater, SMART board, video tele-presence, HD Cameras and connectivity with a distributive learning network via the Internet. Recipients of this technology will be Scotland High School, Richmond Senior High School, Lumberton High School, West Bladen High School, Pine Forest High School, Overhills High School, Hoke County High School, Southern Lee High School, East Montgomery High School, Union Pines High School and Lakewood High School.
The BRAC RTF in partnership with Fayetteville Technical Community College and NAVTech have developed an innovative enhanced technology classroom that started with the placement of i3D theater systems in each of these high schools to enhance the learning environment in all Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) subject areas. The i3D theaters were made possible by a grant from the GoldenLEAF Foundation last December.