University Times

Pitt's School of Education has received a $240,000 grant from The Grable Foundation to update a computer lab used in the training of school administrators.

Located in the School of Education, the facility has 40 stations, multi-media capability and uses Windows 95 to teach school administrators how to improve the day-to-day management of their schools and school districts.

"The School of Education now has one of the finest facilities in the country for preparing school administrators in the use of modern information technology," said project director William Cooley of the School of Education.

The plan, according to Cooley, is to develop a computer-based learning environment in which educational administrators proceed at their own pace to accumulate a portfolio of computer produced products to demonstrate their ability to use computers in their work.

In the lab, administrators will learn how to create and study district budgets, make overheads for school board meetings, develop and use database software, use the World Wide Web to learn of other administrators' experiences, and analyze data for district policy implications.

The Grable Foundation was founded in 1976 by Minnie K. Grable, widow of Errett M. Grable, a Pittsburgh businessman and founder of Rubbermaid Inc.