Poplar Bluff, Missouri – The Poplar Bluff R-I school district recently received a $20,000 anonymous donation in technology, which seems to have become an annual tradition for the school district.

Earlier this school year, R-I Media Director Jim Thomas was contacted by a donor for the second year in a row, and afforded the opportunity to pick out brand-new equipment from a Hewlett-Packard catalogue.

“I cannot express enough thanks to this gentleman, and if I ever get the chance to meet him in person, I look forward to shaking his hand on behalf of our school system,” Thomas said. Respecting the donor’s wishes, the media director only revealed that the donor is an alumnus.

With the donation, Thomas was able to purchase 20 desktops, six laptops and 20 graphic calculators. About a dozen of the HPs are going to Eugene Field Elementary School to equip a third eMINTS laboratory, which stands for enhancing Missouri’s instructional networked teaching strategies—a technology-rich collaborative environment through which students direct their own exploration.

The computer lab will help level the playing field for students, Eugene Field Principal Jennifer Taylor noted, since the school district’s instructional focus is shifting with the one-to-one initiative—a push to get a laptop in the hands of every junior and senior high student, along with Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education curriculum and assessment changes.

“Additional technology at Eugene Field is needed so our students have the tools necessary to ensure a successful transition to the intermediate and secondary grades,” Taylor stated. “We are sincerely appreciative of the anonymous donor whose generosity will support our students’ instructional needs for years to come.”

Last school year’s $20,000 from the anonymous donation went toward equipping the high school’s computer-aided design and drafting lab, among other smaller things such as replacing the outdated computers in the Media Center.

What a wonderful donation to the Poplar Bluff schools!