WHIN in their voices... Regional Cultivation Fund

Les Huddle, Superintendent, and Li Zhao, Chief Technology Officer, at Lafayette School Corporation

WHIN: Thanks so much for your time today. Could you tell us a bit about your students?

Supt. Huddle: I can give you some demographics that are a snapshot of the Lafayette School Corporation. We serve about 7,800 students, K through 12. Approximately 70% of those students are on free or reduced lunch status. We have a very diverse student population and could be considered

a majority minority school corporation with approximately 28% of our students Latino, 20% African-American and 48% Caucasian. We are considered urban and we were pleased to see that WHIN recognized urban children because financial need is a barrier for many of our students when it comes to internet connectivity.

WHIN: What kinds of opportunities are you giving your students to prepare them for 21st century careers?

Supt. Huddle: All of our grade 5 and 6 students attend Sunnyside Intermediate School. Sunnyside was one of the first 19 schools in Indiana to be STEM-certified and they were one of the first to be reauthorized for another five years. One of our elementary schools is in the application process to become STEM-certified. These schools prioritize science, technology, engineering, and math and they employ inquiry, project-based learning, community engagement, entrepreneurship, student-centered classrooms, and out-of- school STEM activities—all designed to prepare students for 21st century jobs.

Mr. Zhao: We are also part of the Greater Lafayette Career Academy, which offers hands-on college and career readiness programs. That facility serves all of the public and private schools in Tippecanoe County as well as students in several of the surrounding counties.

WHIN: How is WHIN’s eLearning funding helping your students?

Mr. Zhao: The program provided hotspots for students who don’t have broadband internet at home. All of our students have 1:1 devices and are fine on campus, but once they go home many students don’t have that opportunity to stay connected. We have had a lot of eLearning days because of the pandemic, and students need to be connected anyway for homework and just for communication to keep up with everything in school.

WHIN: We have helped with eTeaching as well.

Mr. Zhao: A few teachers took advantage of the hotspot program because they live in the country where coverage is spotty and has low latency. We were also piloting specially- equipped classrooms where teachers were not able to be in a classroom physically, using cameras and Zoom to create a hybrid learning and teaching environment.

WHIN: And that pilot caused you to request more WHIN funding.

Mr. Zhao: Yes, whether or not teachers are physically in a classroom, or students are in a classroom or not, we want to be able to bring everybody together with the same audio-video experience. WHIN has provided funding for more classroom equipment to let us expand that capability by strategically integrating smaller pieces of technology like wireless microphones and cameras into our existing TV and audio technology. We are providing a high-quality experience for more teachers and students, in-person or remote, at a fraction of the cost. Even in-person instruction is improved as students can better hear teachers who are mic’d.

WHIN: You then submitted a third and very interesting application for eLearning funds from WHIN. In fact, we had quite a robust internal discussion about that request, which was for new computers for Jefferson High School’s eSports program. eSports are team video game competitions, basically conducted on the internet. We had to do some research to wrap our heads around school-sanctioned video gaming. Can you tell us why eSports are a great opportunity for your students?

Supt. Huddle: eSports have exploded across the country. We’re even seeing students receive scholarships to go to college for eSports. So as with a music program or with an athletic program there is an opportunity to earn a scholarship to go on to higher education. One thing that people may not understand truly about an eSports team is that the students don’t simply play games on the computer. There’s a competition opportunity, but they also get into other aspects of technology with the computer. One thing we are also proud of at Jeff is its unified eSports team. This is a student-formed team that includes students with special needs along with other students. They also compete.

WHIN: Do eSports tend to attract students who are maybe a little bored in regular classes, maybe need a little more challenge?

Supt. Huddle: eSports attracts a variety of students, both boys and girls. I think they find it intriguing that there’s actually school-based competition for what they do after school and in the evening. I’ll give you a personal example. One of my sons has a doctorate in pharmacy and as I’ve talked to him about eSports, he says, Dad, I would’ve done that!

WHIN: Li, I know Jeff is getting some pretty fancy computers. Can you talk a little bit about what that gear looks like?

Mr. Zhao: Their current computers are aging and they were donated from different sources. The new computers are state-of-the-art, high-powered machines, especially well-suited for video processing. We have them in time for a major tournament that Jeff is hosting in April with over 500 players. The new computers will help the students compete on the basis of skill, using advanced technology.