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- By Native News Online Staff
Students in Santa Barbara County schools in California will have additional technology to use thanks to the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Foundation, which donated $72,000 to six area schools that applied for grants through its Technology in Schools Program for the 2023-24 school year.
Santa Barbara County school administrators and faculty were afforded the opportunity to apply for technology grant dollars to fund specific projects. These grants let schools purchase hardware, upgrade infrastructure, add high-tech resources and boost their curriculum.
“We are proud to help these six schools enhance their students’ educational experience through our Tech in Schools Program,” Kenneth Kahn, tribal chairman for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians said. “It’s great to see the innovative ways teachers and administrators in our community use technology to support their key programs and keep their students engaged.”
One grant recipient is Cabrillo High School that was awarded $10,000. The school will use this funding to purchase and install a Neptune Systems monitoring system for a proposed reef exhibit in the school’s aquarium, part of the program’s Coastal Gallery Project. Through its aquarium, the school aims to promote cross-curricular, hands-on education and strives to emphasize its message of global marine awareness throughout the international community.
The Technology in Schools Program began in 2015 when the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians donated the proceeds from its annual charity golf tournament to four local schools in the form of technology grants. Inspired by the success of those grants,
The tribe’s leadership decided to create the Technology in Schools Program through its foundation to help fulfill the high-tech needs of classrooms in Santa Barbara County. Since its inception, the program has now issued more than $470,000 in grants to area schools.
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