The south side well pump will provide water to the cattle on the south side property. The sell of these cows the profits goes towards St. Michael’s Iron Horse Charities to help defray the cost of the events we put on each year for disabled veterans and 1st responders.
Perry
Marion-Perry County Library Summer Reading Program
The Marion-Perry County Library was busy all spring getting ready for the Summer Reading Program. Because of Covid and the uncertainty of having large groups in the library, we decided to work with the Head Start Program, Horseshoe Farm Project and Main Street Marion to plan a program that would reach out to the children in small numbers at a time. Beginning in March, we went to the Headstart classrooms and presented programs based on their curriculum. These were conducted by Mrs. Hansen and Mrs. Nail, and would ordinarily have been in the library. At the same time, our children’s librarians began purchasing and ordering books, puzzles, games, treats and other educational materials to give to the children in the summer. We have spent most of our money to place hardback educational books in the bags, with an emphasis on the graduating Head Start classes to promote literacy during the summer. We have had six in-house reading and story times, with children receiving bags at each visit. We have also coordinated with the Head Start teachers to distribute bags to the children who were unable to come into the library (this is still ongoing as the summer progresses. None of this would have been possible without RC&D.
Classroom Technology Project
As a new school and Alabama’s second rural charter school, Breakthrough Charter is working to ensure students have access to much-needed technology to help prepare students for success in the 21st century. To support effective teaching and learning with appropriate technology integration, we are purchasing Promethean smart boards for all teachers. This grant will help us purchase this necessary tool for teachers. These smart boards allow students to interact with curriculum in a more hands-on, technologically-conscious manner.
Note: The image below is an example of how Promethean smart boards will look in the classrooms. We are currently waiting for the devices to arrive in Fall 2021. This backorder issue is directly tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.
MMI Classroom Technology Upgrade
Vision 2022: Marion Military Institute will be nationally recognized as the premier leader development college of Alabama with whole cadet enrichment through an immersive and intentional experiential learning environment, a relevant, rigorous and robust academic program and character and leadership education development system.
In order to do this MMI realized it must stay on top of the technical curve and began upgrading each classroom last year. Ala-Tom RC&D’s 2020/2021 grant allowed MMI to kick off the upgrade. By the end of the summer (2021) MMI will have upgraded 25 of the 27 classrooms. The MMI Classroom Technology Upgrade Project has provided MMI with the means to upgrade our classrooms with the most up-to-date instructional technology. These upgrades have allowed the MMI faculty to engage students more effectively both in the classroom and with remote delivery.
Marion-Perry County Supplies
The Marion Perry County Library had a difficult year in 2020-2021. We had to close several times during the Covid shutdown. We used part of our grant to purchase supplies for cleaning and maintenance that was done during the shutdown since the library was closed. We also used funds from RC&D to help us meet general expenses. This was especially helpful since the county did not fund us for the first 7 months of the 2020-2021 fiscal year. We provide library and technology services to the people of Perry County. We make available to them books, magazines, newspapers, children’s books, large type books, genealogy and reference books. We provide a reference service, fax and printer service, and scanning service.