2010-08-15 / Front Page
Riviera School District goes high tech thanks to USDA grant
Students from the Riviera Independent School District are pictured with Cheryl Cook (center), USDA Rural Development Deputy Under Secretary, along with Michael Canales, USDA Rural Development Texas Community Programs Director Jake Sheeran, and Denise Blanchard, Chief of Staff for U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz, at a recent check presentation. Cook and Canales presented a ceremonial check for $179,754 to the Riviera Independent School District to assist with upgraded broadband computer services. The funding is provided through USDA Rural Development’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program. ‘This funding will be used to increase educational opportunities for students, who will be better equipped to contribute to business and economic opportunities within rural America,’ Cook said. The grant will be used to connect almost 500 students in Kleberg County to a regional education network operated out of the Education Service Center in Corpus Christi. With this new technology, the curriculum will now include the ability for students to attend virtual college, and students will also be able to connect to people in other countries and take virtual tours of locations that students have never visited. 
