At  this year’s MASA Distinguished Administrators’ Luncheon, 10  new MASA members were inducted into the Winners’ Circle. These members were honored by the Membership Services Committee for initiating a unique, successful program or implementing an innovative idea that has had a significant, positive impact on their school districts that can be used by other districts across the state.

Bridges to Digital Excellence program
Jeff Mills, Van Buren ISD
with Tom Richardson

The Bridges to Digital Excellence is a collaborative partnership between the Van Buren Intermediate School District and the Consortium for Community Development of Benton Harbor. The goal of the project is to address the fastest growing divide in the United States: access to and knowledge of technology. VBISD is addressing this divide through the placement of computers in the home of every child in Van Buren County that does not currently have access to technology. Any child in Van Buren County can attend an eight-hour computer literacy class with their guardian and receive a refurbished computer preloaded with Microsoft XP, Office 2003, and Internet access.

As of December 2008, the Bridges to Digital Excellence program has provided computer literacy training to over 200 parents and students and has placed over 100 computers in the homes of families in Van Buren County. We anticipate we will place computers in the homes of over 200 families before the end of the 2008-2009 school year. The overall success and impact of the program and training can best be summed up by the words of the participants themselves:

“I learned so much from this class … I never realized how smart my son was.”

“This will help me teach my mother and younger brothers and sisters. My mother does not know how to read or write.”

 “I now know how important it is to get involved in my child’s education and I now know how to do it.”

“This is going to change our lives.”

MASA accepts nominations for the Winners’ Circle year round. You can find more details on previous winners and their programs at www.gomasa.org/MemberBenefits/Awards/WinnersCircle/tabid/141/Default.aspx.