Oceanside to receive $250k grant for learning lab

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At the Oceanside Board of Education’s March 22 meeting, school officials announced that they are close to securing a state grant for $250,000 that would go towards the development of an early childhood learning lab at School No. 6.

“I’m thrilled to say that about two and a half weeks ago we got a stack of papers,” Schools Superintendent Dr. Phyllis Harrington said at the meeting. After reviewing the documents, she and Chris Van Cott, assistant superintendent of business, said they felt confident that they had received the grant, and were nearing the end of the two-year application process.

Harrington said the district plans to repurpose a part of School No. 6’s library for the lab. All of the district’s pre-school and kindergarten students are funneled through the school, making it an ideal location, she added.

At the meeting, School No. 6 principal Julie McGahan said her goal is to create a technology space where students could engage in hands-on activities, such as dismantling rotary phones, as well as digital research exercises involving tools such as iPads and voice-activated devices like Google Home.

State Sen. Todd Kaminsky originally awarded the grant to the district when he was a member of the New York State Assembly, as the schools then began the application process. “Providing a modern, high-tech early learning experience is vital to ensuring our students receive the best education possible,” Kaminsky said in a statement. “With this $250,000 investment, Oceanside will create a state-of-the-art early learning lab, so that our children will have the best learning opportunities available from the very first day they start school.”

Dr. Harrington said she hopes to have the lab open by September 2018.