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$40,000 Grant Goes To 4 Public Schools

Courtesy of World of Westchase

WOW Publisher Chris Barrett, center, presents a $19,000 check to Davidsen Middle School Principal Michael Miranda, left, and PTA President Sue Vidmar. The school received the money last month and will use it on new computers for the media center.

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By COURTNEY CAIRNS PASTOR, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 20, 2008

Westchase - Westchase - The four public schools that serve Westchase-area students got a $40,000 boost recently from World of Westchase.

The money will pay for high-tech classroom projectors, printing projects and new computer labs at Alonso High School, Davidsen Middle School and Westchase and Lowry elementaries.

World of Westchase, which publishes the monthly neighborhood magazine WOW, distributes donations throughout the year, with the bulk coming when the fiscal year ends in December. WOW asked the schools for wish lists for items that would enhance the curriculum and then looked at funding them, said Publisher Chris Barrett.

The magazine distributes to charity the money it raises that exceeds its costs and has pitched in $75,000 to schools in the past two years. The amount this year included $12,700 raised through the Great West Chase 5K in October. Barrett said the magazine staff would not hold the race without volunteers, many of whom have school ties.

School donations, Barrett said, wind up benefiting a large number of Westchase residents.

Davidsen received the largest infusion of money. The $19,000 check Barrett presented last month will pay for almost two dozen computers. The school plans to overhaul its computer lab in the media center and get rid of its "dinosaur" units, Barrett said.

Last year, WOW donated $23,000 to Westchase Elementary to revamp its computer lab with 25 flat-screen desktop computers. The school this year received $11,000 for 10 classroom projectors.

Alonso got $5,000, which it will use to offset Parent-Teacher-Student Association costs for printing student agendas.

Lowry is putting its $5,500 from WOW toward five high-tech classroom projectors. Principal Kathy Coto said the school started buying the machines a couple of years ago with the goal of having one for every teacher. It should meet that goal by fall.

Unlike old overhead projectors, the new ones can show images three dimensionally and project anything - an article, a letter or homework assignment - without being printed first on a transparency.

Coto said the school could not have offered the projectors to teachers without help from business partners and the WOW donation.

"We're very appreciative of the donation," she said.

Reporter Courtney Cairns Pastor can be reached at (813) 865-1503 or cpastor@tampatrib.com.

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