SHERRARD, Ill. — The Sherrard School District is receiving a $97,000 grant from the Looser-Flake Foundation. That grant will allow the district to upgrade its library with an "innovation lab."
The Looser-Flake Foundation distributed the money through the Quad Cities Community Foundation.
Inside the Sherrard High School, staff are looking toward education's future.
"Over the years what we've learned is kids want choices and places where they want to sit and places they want to be and who they want to be with, so we're giving them that opportunity within this space," said Steve Miller.
Miller is the instructional technology coach for the district.
"We're in the process of designing the innovative space in the library which hasn't been updated since the 1970s," said Miller.
The transformation is made possible with the grant from the Looser-Flake Foundation.
"We're going to have collaborative stations with LED monitors so kids can hook up their devices and they can work in groups together at tables," said Miller.
It is not the first time the Sherrard district has done a project like this. The district has received grants from the same foundation in the past, which has allowed district leaders to upgrade other schools with newer technology and more innovative spaces.
"Those look a little different because they're more age-appropriate," said Miller.
As the transformation starts to take shape, the Sherrard School District is finding new ways to invest in the future.
The district is still in the design phases, but Miller expects the high school's renovation to be complete by the start of the 2022-2023 school year.
Miller said about a quarter of the grant money will be used for the library space upgrades. The remaining portion of the grant will be used for other technology projects throughout the school, said Miller.
The Mercer County School District also received a grant. That district received an $88,000 grant for the district's vocational education programs, according to a press release from the Quad Cities Community Foundation.