The BEF recently purchased a new kitchen set for the home-economics classroom. The stovetop and both ovens were completely inoperable and in dire need of being replaced in order to successfully teach the skills needed in that department. The old appliances in the home- economics room dated back to the 1960’s and had served many generations of people. Our current students, however, are very glad that these new ovens and stovetop are now in place and ready to use. All the classes use the kitchen from time to time and our students would personally like to thank those that generously gave $1,850 for these great additions to their classroom environment.

This past summer, the Burlington Education Foundation funded a memory upgrade of the school's computers in an effort to extend the life of the machines. The project involved purchasing memory chips for nearly 60 computers at a cost of almost $3,000. This allowed the school's computers to go from running 256 MB of RAM to 1.25 GB on most machines and 2 GB for the computers in the lab. This upgrade increased the RAM performance by 5 to 8 times the previous amount. This upgrade has resulted in a noticeable increase in performance and speed for all of the computers, which allows the students and teachers to utilize their time more efficiently. Thanks to Cory Claflin for his help!

The Burlington Education Foundation along with the BHS classes of 1973 and 1974 helped to purchase ten NEO2/Renaissance Place Learning laptop computers. The NEO2 is a wireless laptop computer that a student can take to their desk for personal use. This new technology also required the purchase of two wireless receivers for the classrooms. These computers are less expensive than a normal laptop and are being utilized by Kindergarten through Sixth grades for Accelerated Reading tests, keyboarding skills, and writing skills. The availability of the NEO2 computer gives our students an advantage in learning skills needed in today’s world.

Other projects the Burlington Educational Foundation has completed include:

• Complete Playground Renovation at School
• New Portable Sound System for School
• Numerous Teacher Grants for classroom needs