Seekonk Public Schools Awarded Multiple Grants

Seekonk -- Superintendent Rich Drolet is pleased to announce that Seekonk Public Schools has been awarded grants from the Massachusetts Computer Using Educators (MassCUE) and the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS).

"I want to thank the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security and the Massachusetts Computer Using Educators organization for these generous grants that will provide new opportunities to the students and staff members of Seekonk Public Schools," said Superintendent Drolet. "I am thankful for our Director of Technology and Digital Learning Colleen Terrill and Mr. Weissman for their willingness and enthusiasm to support these programs for the overall betterment of our school community."

MassCUE Classroom Grant
Seekonk Public Schools was awarded $2,900 in funding from the MassCUE organization as part of the MassCUE Classroom Grant program.

Seekonk Public Schools plans to use grant funds to purchase equipment and materials to support the integration of the new State Robotics Program at the Dr. Kevin M. Hurley Middle School.
Equipment and materials being purchased include VEX Robotics electronics and sensors to increase the capacity of robots students will build in class. Specifically, optical sensors will be purchased to provide sight for the robots, distance sensors to provide more accurate movements and GPS sensors for location-based programming.

The Robotics program will also utilize funding to purchase the Vexcode V5 programming system, a python based language. With the integration of this program, students will learn about the foundations of the programming language in order to create code to make the robots functional.


With this new equipment, teachers will have the opportunity to increase their knowledge through more advanced coding and provide students with the opportunity to design, build, program and test working robots to perform different tasks.

The MassCUE Classroom Grant intends to provide recipients with an opportunity to bring new innovative ideas into their classrooms.

Municipal Cybersecurity Awareness Grant
Seekonk Public Schools was also awarded the Municipal Cybersecurity Awareness Grant from the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS) as part of the Municipal Cybersecurity Awareness Grant program. These grants are awarded to government agencies in Massachusetts to improve cybersecurity posture through end-user training, evaluation, and threat simulation.

The Executive Office of Technology Services and Security's Office of Municipal and School Technology procures and manages the program, which makes the program free to participating organizations.

Beginning in March, Seekonk Public Schools will participate in the Municipal Cybersecurity Awareness Grant program's Abbreviated Training Track Option 2, one of three training tracks offered by the program in 2023.

With the help of the grant, the school district will educate approximately 300 staff members on cyber threats and provide training and best practices for keeping the community’s data as secure as possible.

Seekonk Public Schools Director of Technology and Digital Learning Colleen Terrill has been designated as the local coordinator, responsible for overseeing local participation in the program.

Participation in the program is monitored by issuing regular progress reports and communicating regularly with the designated local coordinator(s) on program action items.