USDA Rural Development Program

USDA Rural Development Program

On January 24, 2011, the USDA Rural Development program announced that ESU 10 and the 41 schools served from ESU 10 and ESU 11 were awarded a Distance Learning and Telemedicine grant.  The distance learning project award was for $494,011.  Participating schools will contribute an additional $360,000 in match making the overall project value at $872,011.

The goals for the project include:

  • Access to virtual field trips
  • Enriching curriculum
  • Provide courses currently unavailable in rural schools
  • Provide professional development for teachers

The timeline and plan for implementation for the project:

Project Activity Person(s) Responsible Time
Meet with USDA to express intent to participate John Stritt, Valerie Gwin, Ron Cone, Andre Boening February 2011
Review equipment options for schools John Stritt, Technology Vendors February, March 2011
Meet with administrators to discuss equipment options John Stritt, Participating School Administrators March, April 2011
Submit requests to USDA for adjustments in application John Stritt, USDA March, April 2011
Develop a clearinghouse for curriculum and virtual field trip offerings Nathan McClenahan February - July, 2011
Purchase of equipment - Video Center, Codecs, Carts, Monitors John Stritt March - June, 2011
Summer trainings at ESU 10 and ESU 11 for equipment distribution John Stritt June, July 2011
Scheduled video conferenced trainings for school staff John Stritt August 2011-May 2012
Develop Virtual Field Trip opportunities for ESU10 and 11 Schools John Stritt, State Distance Education Council August 2011-May 2012