Grants and Mentoring, Forks, WA

Apply for grants; all funding sources help

Forks, Washington is a rural community of 5000 including the outskirts of town. Located on the peninsula, Forks is remote the closest town large enough to have a movie theatre is a 90 minute drive and Seattle is 4 hours away.

Forks High School was the first rural school to receive a High Tech High Grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The money was used to improve broadband service at the school and the technology was DSL simply because that was the only broadband option for this remote area. The funds have also supplied computers in every classroom and library.

The grant began in 2002 and was set up to provide funding for four years. Some of the lessons learned are that buy in from community members and key leaders is critical ahead of time. When the community learned their school district was the recipient of the grant they were very excited but it has been difficult to maintain the excitement and interest over time. Other lessons learned are that attitude is just as important as hardware. Simply adding boxes and wires does not mean a community or a school will instantly change. A desire to learn is just as essential as the connections and hardware.

The Mentoring Project

A mentoring program was set up for students in 4th through 8th grades. The students targeted are facing an academic risk of failure. Due to economic downturns in logging and fishing industries many of the students also live in high poverty. The local economy is starting to improve as they shift their focus towards tourism. This project is a partnership between the school district and a non-profit community organization that began in 2004. The goal is to have 30 mentors in 3 years. One of the biggest challenges for this program is finding enough adults who would like to mentor students. The mentoring brings community members to the school and increased communication and understanding benefits everyone.

One unintended consequence is that many mentors are finding they can learn a lot from the students especially regarding technology. The staff and mentors have participated in online courses and training. This unique project shows that not every community project has to focus on technology and that the more different groups work together the greater benefits for the community.

For More Information:
http://www.forks.wednet.edu/
Contact: Dave Demiglio, Director of Connecting Schools and Communities
Quillayute Valley School District
P.O. Box 60
Forks, WA 98331
Phone: 360-374-6262 ext. 229
Email: demiglio@esd114.wednet.edu

For More Information about the Mentoring Project:
http://www.connectingschools.org/index.htm
Contact: Kathy Lebuis, Program Director/Mentoring Coordinator
voice: (360) 374-6262 ext. 221
fax: (360) 374-9657
email: klebuis@esd114.wednet.edu