Pine Bush Central Schools welcomed New York State Senator James Skoufis on Thursday, Dec. 21, to celebrate a $50,000 grant which was used to upgrade science classrooms in the district. The grant was spearheaded by Science Department Chairperson, Dr. Michael Raucci, who worked with Skoufis to bring the funds into the science classrooms.

 

 

“The goal was to create the biggest impact for both students and teachers to enhance classroom learning using 21st century technologies,” said Raucci.

The funds were used to purchase 18 85-inch Samsung Interactive Displays. The displays are enormous touchscreen tablets that mount in the front of the classrooms. They replace the older projectors that had been used since the 1990s.

 

 

The new devices offer teachers enhanced opportunities to interact with students, provide crisp displays, and offer teachers and students the opportunity to annotate directly on the screen, according to Raucci. Science teachers immediately took to the devices and  have been revising lessons to better integrate the new devices’ attributes.

Each science classroom in the high school has one of the new displays. There are two displays in each of the middle schools as well.

 

 

Administrators, including Superintendent Brian Dunn, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Amy Brockner, Assistant Superintendent for Business Joe Lenz, and PBHS Principal Aaron Hopmayer, members of the district’s Technology Department and PBHS’s custodial team, which installed the new devices, were on hand for the celebration.