LPOHS secures $1M federal grant

SANDPOINT — Lake Pend Oreille High School teachers will have a lot more resources at their command next year thanks to the acquisition of a $1 million federal grant.

According to Lake Pend Oreille School District Superintendent Shawn Woodward, district staff succeeded in securing a large school improvement grant designed to give a boost to under-performing schools. As the last line of defense in the district for preventing high school dropouts, Lake Pend Oreille High School will receive a variety of enhancements to better serve at-risk students, Woodward said.

“A lot of times, this is the last chance to graduate for some of these students,” Woodward said.

Lake Pend Oreille High School teachers will find plenty to benefit from the grant acquisition. The money will allow the district to bring in a consultant, who can offer instructional coaching and help identify key practices that produce tangible results in the classroom. Other professional development opportunities for teachers may also be available as a result of the extra funding.

According to Woodward, the money will also help put together some new inter-disciplinary courses. These classes are expected to utilize the natural environment more thoroughly to get students outdoors and into nature.

“Here in North Idaho, we have this beautiful environment, and we want to take advantage of that,” Woodward said.

Perhaps most importantly, the grant will make Lake Pend Oreille High School yet another district school to achieve one-to-one ratio between students and computing technology. Woodward said students will be outfitted with iPads that can be used in class to streamline the learning experience. Washington and Hope elementary schools have also achieved the milestone thanks to grants from the Khan Academy secured earlier this year. According to Woodward, one-third of the district will have hit that one-to-one ratio by the next school year.