Students of Richmond County Ninth Grade Academy will have what their principal calls “a leg up” this year thanks to approximately $58,000 in classroom technology donated by the Richmond County Education Foundation.

A presentation and demonstration was held Friday of the 22 50-inch plasma screens, 22 “airliner” hand-held computers and 13 laptop computers.

“These are good instructional tools, and they will give our students a leg up that previous students never had,” Ninth Grade Academy Principal Michael Chapman told the roughly 50 people who saw the technology demonstrated. “They’re going to be exposed to this 21st Century technology when they’re in the ninth grade, and we know that as they move forward not only to Richmond Senior High but into the world beyond that ... this will help them meet the challenges they’ll face.”

The plasma screens will be in 22 individual classrooms in the school. Data will be on display just like on a chalkboard. The hand-held airliner devices will be able to be passed around the room to students, who can key in input and see that data come up on the television screen nearly instantaneously.

“As you can see, you can pass it to the kids, and believe me a kid is going to pick this thing up and start writing on it and working it a lot faster than you or I will,” said Richmond County Schools Director of Instructional Technology Mike Williams. “It’s a good interactive tool without having to get kids out of their seats.

RCS Teacher of the Year Kristi Wagers teaches English at the Academy, and said she sees a ton of potential with the new tools.

“It’s a lot more engaging,” she said. “It will be nice to be able to move all around the room.”

“We think this will have a very positive impact, and even more, it hopefully will get our kids excited about coming in and learning,” said RCS Superintendent Dr. George Norris.

“The (Education Foundation) has taken on a new vision and a new approach,” Foundation President Priscilla Kindley said. “Right now, with the world the way it is, we felt like technology in the classroom was one thing that there was a lack of, and that was a positive thing the foundation could do.”

“In reality, the expectation is that these kids are going to have to be able to use technology like this at secondary schools and universities, and then in the workplace,” Norris said.

The Richmond County Education Foundation is funded through fundraisers, including its annual golf tournament, and private donations.

The next fundraisers for the group will come during the football season.

The Butler game at Raider Field will have an extra dollar added to the ticket price to benefit the foundation, and they are also raffling off a pair of season tickets and a parking space.

Raffle tickets will be sold at $5 each and can be purchased at any pre-sale site: Mabry’s Home & Drug, Family Pharmacy, Medical Center Pharmacy, Sports World, along with Four Oaks Bank and Southern Builders. The winner will be announced during half-time of the Lee County game August 28.