Atlantic Community School District Superintendent Dr. Michael Amstein, Tuesday, thanked a local business and organization for their generous support of education in the district. Amstein acknowledged 1st Whitney Bank and Trust for their contribution of $37,500 towards the district’s 1-to-1 computer initiative which puts leased Apple Macbook laptop computers into the students’ hands as a learning tool beginning with the upcoming school year. The bank has pledged a total of $50,000 toward the first phase of the project.)

The 1:1 (One-to-One) program will cost more than $625,650 over the course of four-years. During Tuesday night’s School Board meeting, Amstein also acknowledged the support of the Atlantic Education Foundation. He said they donated funds to purchase a laser engraver for the Industrial Tech program at the high school. The engraver cost around $20,000.

Amstein said also, Camblin Mechanical, the Association of Builders and Contractors, and A-H-S Principal Heather McKay, are in talks to bring a Career Tech Education course in Plumbing, to the high school. He said if that happens, it will likely be the first such course in the State of Iowa. The initial class would focus on safety, use of tools and the basic components of plumbing. Students who complete the first class will receive their OSHA Safety Certificate, which is required by many employers in the mechanical and plumbing field.

In other news, Amstein said he received word from the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) that they would like to receive a short presentation from a representative of the district to be made at the IASB’s convention in November about the Lindamood Bell Reading and Comprehension Program the district has been using, and that the IASB is highly impressed with the results Atlantic has experienced with the program.

During the convention, a representative of the district will sit in on a panel that focuses on poverty and strategies districts use to aid in students’ learning and comprehension.