School Administrative District 75 is part of a collaborative distance learning initiative that received a $467,873 federal grant to provide equipment and training for 26 different sites around Maine — including five in SAD 75.

The school district was the primary applicant for the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program funds — a program offered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Rural Development.

The DLT program “is designed specifically to meet the educational and health care needs of rural America,” the USDA website states. “Through loans, grants and loan/grant combinations, advanced telecommunications technologies provide enhanced learning and health care opportunities for rural residents.”

According to Kerry Gallivan, technology director for SAD 75, the five sites within the district include Mt. Ararat high school and middle school, Harpswell Community School, Bowdoin Central School and Bowdoinham Community School.

The latter two elementary schools were part of a successful “2010 Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing” grant. Relative to the newest grant, the Bowdoin and Bowdoinham sites are slated to receive additional equipment to augment the basic video conference equipment the schools already received.

Woodside Elementary School and Williams- Cone Elementary School in Topsham did not qualify for the grant because the town’s population density exceeds the grant’s allowed limits.

The local match SAD 75 must provide as part of the USDA grant, Gallivan said, will be covered through existing technology expenditures such as the laptop program at the high school and laptops for the elementary teachers.

Gallivan said last week that SAD 75 served as the primary applicant in what is a wideranging collaboration called a “blended distance learning initiative,” which will use a range of different tools.

District staff worked for about three months to prepare the application, which was submitted May 18, 2011, according to Gallivan.

The state’s congressional delegation also wrote letters of support as part of the application, Gallivan said.

The high school, middle school and Harpswell Community School will receive distance learning equipment, including 50-inch high definition televisions that allow for interactive learning. They are “much more than just TVs,” Gallivan said, but rather an entire system that is portable and allows for real-time, high definition distance learning using the Internet to access sites that have similar systems.

For example, the application called for students using the system for virtual field trips, such as those offered by NASA, Gallivan said.

SAD 75 also will be able to use the system to connect with other schools that are part of this particular grant, as well as a number of other schools systems that use similar systems. Internally, the district is looking to see if it can augment its curriculum by connecting with another school system that offers, for example, a particular language or Advanced Placement class SAD 75 does not, Gallivan said.

The distance learning initiative also aims to allow students to take dual enrollment courses through post- secondary schools, including the state’s entire university system.

The high definition televisions can be moved from room to room, Gallivan said. Each school will have the option to install software that would allow students to connect with the system using software they already have on their laptops.

“SAD 75 is delighted to be part of organizations selected for this technology grant,” said Brad Smith, superintendent of SAD 75 schools, in an email response to news of the grant award. “The educational applications of technology are evolving rapidly. The possibilities for linking our students and staff to a larger community outside of the district is exciting.”

The district has been working specifically with Cisco, a global technology company, and CBE Technologies based in South Portland, to implement the initiative. Because SAD 75 is the lead applicant, Gallivan hopes to get the system up and running by the start of the 2012-13 academic year.