St. Louis (Missouri) school officials plan to use grant money to create schools with computer-based learning programs that will help improve test scores and keep students in the district. Included: Description of a computer-based learning program.

The St. Louis (Missouri) Public Schools will use an $8.4 million Magnet Schools Assistance Program grant from the U.S. Department of Education to make significant changes at a dozen elementary schools. The goal is that the improvements will help stem the district's declining enrollment. The money will go toward creating a group of schools that offer the same computer-based learning program. The program already has been successful in at least one district school, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

At Peabody Elementary, the installation of a computer-program called Enhancing Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies (eMINTS) coincided with a dramatic improvement in test scores. In the eMINTS program, pupils use the Internet to explore questions posed during their lessons. For a lesson on electricity, pupils might visit sites bookmarked by their teacher on Thomas Edison. There also are sites designed specifically for eMINTS. "Oh, the kids love it," Peabody teacher Kathleen Hill said.

eMINTS appealed to the U.S. Department of Education in part because of its connection to school choice. Pupils in St. Louis schools that do not meet federal standards can transfer to the schools with the new technology component.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE

Some of the information in this article comes from the U.S. Department of Education. To learn more about this topic, you might read:

• Grant will expand teaching program
  This news article appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on August 2, 2004. Note: This link was live at the time of publication. Some newspaper Web sites require registration. Others retain complete news stories for a limited time.