OAK RIDGE SCHOOLS GET $67,000 IN GRANTS

OAK RIDGE -- Students in the Oak Ridge School District will benefit from $67,000 in state grants for two new programs during the 1995-96 school year.

With the help of a $4,000 incentive grant, Wayne Bock, an industrial arts teacher, will develop a program using satellite weather information for his modern technology course.

"It's integration," Bock said. "We're bringing science into our technology program."

The satellite program allows students to gain access to radio and satellite signals. Much of the weather information will be similar to that used by the National Weather Service.

Bock also hopes to write a guidebook for the satellite weather classroom program and to incorporate the maps into science classes for weather predictions.

In the past, the modern technology course has also included units on amateur radio operation, robotics, computer-aided design and desktop publishing.

Another grant awarded to the school will give students more business and vocational knowledge. The school received $63,000 through a Vocational-Technical Education Grant.

Principal Duane Schindler said the school was one of only a few in Southeast Missouri to receive funding for the program.

"It's excellent for us," Schindler said. "It will allow us to buy equipment to put in our applied classes that we otherwise wouldn't be able to do."

The school will match the funds with $21,000.

Science teacher Melody Green and math teacher Carole DelVecchio submitted the grant proposal with the assistance of the Perry Area Career Center and Mineral Area College.

The goals of the program are to prepare Oak Ridge students for work in a highly technical world, and foster partnerships between educators, the work place and the community. It will also enable educators to provide curriculum that encourages a smooth transition from high school to the work place or a vocational program.

"They will be able to do experiments that are relevant to real life," Schindler said, adding that many of the science classes will benefit with more equipment for experiments.

The grant will provide funding for curriculum revisions like the addition of courses in the principles of technology, applied mathematics and applied communication, as well as materials and equipment for hands-on labs in natural resources, nutrition and disease wellness.

The vocational-technical education enhancement award was established through the Outstanding Schools Act of 1993. It is administered by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Division of Vocational and Adult Education.