The Liberty County School System received notification Aug. 21 that its Math and Science Partnership program proposal has been approved by the Georgia Department of Education.  
The MSP Grant is a two-year commitment. For the 2014-15 school year, Liberty County will receive $283,945, and funding for the 2015-16 school year will be announced next summer.  
Liberty County’s proposal is called Project RAMP (Raising Academic Measures of Progress). Project RAMP unites the staff of the Liberty County School System with the Science/Mathematics Institute for Interdisciplinary STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Education at Georgia Southern University. The project’s goal is to increase teachers’ content knowledge and confidence, which in turn will raise student achievement.
The grant focuses on providing high-quality, on-going professional learning for teachers of mathematics and the sciences in middle and high schools. Training will be offered during monthly collaboration meetings, quarterly Saturday workshops and a weeklong summer academy. Training will be conducted in collaboration with GSU’s team.  Liberty County’s math and science specialists will train alongside professors from GSU.
Content training also will be provided by specialists from the Apple Corporation by assisting teachers in taking full advantage of the technology offered to LCSS students through the Liberty Learning Experience.
This year, each middle- and high-school student will have an iPad issued by the system for classroom and home use while each teacher will have an iPad and a MacBook laptop. Through Focused Learning After School Hours (FLASH) courses, teachers will focus on high-impact strategies, new knowledge and innovative strategies to utilize in their technology-enriched classrooms.
“Project RAMP is built on the principle of shared problems, solutions and responsibilities,” LCSS Superintendent Dr. Valya S. Lee said. “The high-quality training provided will build capacity among teachers. The Liberty Learning Experience will allow teachers to expand their teaching outside the classroom. Using the iPads, teachers can challenge students to gather and analyze information to solve real world problems. These two initiatives are a perfect fit for one another.”
For more information, email Susan Avant at savant@liberty.k12.ga.us or call 876-2161.