Students at Miles Avenue Elementary School in Billings, Montana await wireless laptops funded by the Beaumont Foundation of America

Later this fall, students at Miles Avenue Elementary School will have an easier time bridging what one fourth-grade teacher describes as a digital divide.

The school at 1601 Miles Ave. will soon receive 15 laptop computers and other technology as part of a grant worth $32,500 from a Texas-based nonprofit group. The shipment is expected in late October.

The computers will be incorporated into the curriculum as way to give kids a jump start in an area that’s becoming more important every year, said Kim Busch, a fourth-grade teacher who helped pursue the funds from the Beaumont Foundation of America.

The Beaumont Foundation of America – "To fulfill the promise of the Information Age by providing access to technology and the skills to use it." http://www.bmtfoundation.com

At Miles Avenue Elementary, where at least half the 320 students receives free or reduced-price lunch, the help comes just in time, Busch said.

"Many of the families cannot provide access to technology," she said Thursday. "In today’s society, you need to be literate in technology to be successful."

By LANCE BENZEL
Of The Gazette Staff

Full Story: http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2005/09/06/build/local/40-laptops.inc