Five Gold Stars for Sudderth
    By Sheila Boggess, Staff Writer ~~ The Monahans News, November 3, 2008

Sudderth Elementary School in Monahans gets an A-plus when it comes to keeping up with technology.  The school recently received five gold stars in a state recognized rating, said Sudderth Principal Bonnie Richardson.  The most a school can get is seven gold stars.  Richardson attributes the high rating to the school's emphasis on technology.

The school recently underwent a massive remodeling and addition project.  New to the school is a sixth-grade wing that opened its doors last year.

"We're very proud of Sudderth," said Richardson.  "We're blessed because the school district tries to keep up with technology."

Richardson and Assistant Principal Dianna Scott recently talked about the technology that helped Sudderth achieve the high rating.  Twenty-two Smart-Boards, glorified electronic interactive white boards, are in each core classroom throughout the school.  Last year, teachers went through training and professional development classes to learn to use the boards.

Now, all the teachers feel at ease using the boards, said Richardson.   Students who had been in classrooms with similar boards were quick to help teachers embrace the new technology.

Teachers use the boards to go over Saxon math problems from the textbook.  These also are programs for the school's Shurley language arts text, social studies, and daily science.  Teachers also can use the boards to discuss benchmark questions.  Teachers also can look something up on the Internet and project it on the board for an interactive discussion.

Nancy Upchurch, the district's Technology PEIMS (Public Education Information Management System) coordinator said the district works hard to keep up or exceed technology standards.

"We've got what they (other districts) have or more," she said.

She recently ordered 20 more of the boards, these with attached wall-mounted projectors.  Tatom Elementary, now undergoing a major remodeling and building project, will have 35 similar boards, called Promethean boards that are geared for younger pupils, pre-kindergarten through fourth grades.

Today's children are very literate, and the district works to expose them to the latest in technology, said Upchurch.  "Technology is changing all of the time."

It is Upchurch's job to use the District's budgeted $120,000 to do just that.  She oversees the District's 900 computers.  Among those are 22 laptops in a mobile lab at Sudderth.  Teachers can check out the cart full of laptops and use them for each child in the classroom when they are researching a topic.  On this particular day, students are working in Study Island, a program that helps them learn to use the Internet to look up subjects.

Most Sudderth students visit the computer lab at the school twice a week.  There, they learn programs such as Excel, a spreadsheet program, and PowerPoint, a program that businesses often use for presentations.  State standards dictate that every sixth grader be able to create a spreadsheet on Excel, said Richardson.

Sudderth's 430 students' work also can be tracked by parents and students online.  Parents can check to be sure their children turn in their work on time, and what grade they received for it.

A visit to the Science Lab shows one more piece of technology.  A Pro-Scope is a favorite with Sudderth students.  Put anything beneath the scope, and it's like a microscope that is projected onto a monitor so the whole class can view an object at once.  On this day, a student has brought in a large quartz rock.  Students "ooh" and "ahh" as the image appears on the screen.

"The boys especially like to see their scabs," said science teacher, Melissa Dutton, laughing.  Asking for volunteers, several hands shoot up.  One boy comes up and sticks his arm out as the rest of the class collectively says, "Gross!" as the magnified image of his scab appears.  The next boy puts the scope on a scar on his arm.

Technology has students clamoring to learn and visitors wishing they could go back to school once again.