Moriches, NY - September 27, 2016 - William Floyd Middle School (WFMS) librarian Julia Hannibal was recently selected to receive a 2016 NYSCATE (New York State Association for Computers and Technologies in Education) grant for $1,980 which will go toward a project in which students from the WFMS Code Club will build Raspberry Pis, low-cost credit card sized computers designed to improve programming and hardware skills of students at the pre-university level.

“Building computers from scratch requires collaboration, determination and skill,” said Ms. Hannibal in her grant proposal. “It is an educator’s responsibility to infuse students with an ethical, responsible, legal, and safe means of using technology. 21^st century students must stay current with trends in technology in order to pursue higher levels of education and employment.”

“With a record number of grant submissions this year, the strength of your submission was quite clear to the evaluators,” said Dr. Amy Perry-DelCorvo, CEO and Executive Director, NYSCATE, in an email to Ms. Hannibal informing her of the award. “Congratulations to you and the William Floyd School District for fostering innovation and creativity, and enhancing education though the appropriate use of technology.”

Ms. Hannibal added, “Upon graduation, employers are going to assume a certain amount of computer science has been taught throughout the student’s educational career, yet public schools sometimes struggle to incorporate advances in technology into the classroom. Working together to create and program these low-cost computers will help students meet this goal. We can transform teaching and learning through projects like this and keep students on the cutting edge in a globally competitive job market.”