About Ridgeland High SchoolStudents: 1,305Teachers: 91 full time, nine part timeAdministrators: SixSupport staff: Seven full time, six part timeGraduation rate: 64.7 percent in 2009-10, up more than 5 percentage points from the previous yearTesting results: 32 percent of students did not meet minimum standards on the math portion of the Georgia High School Graduation Test last school year and 14 percent did not meet minimum standards on the reading portion of the test.
A year ago, Josh Hurst’s engineering and video production lab at Ridgeland High School contained a mish-mash of outdated computers, some approaching 10 years old.
The antiquated hard drives sputtered and spun endlessly as students tried to perform work with memory-intensive design programs.
“A lot of the kids would say, ‘Why work on this at school when I’ve got a better computer at home?'” Hurst said.
Twelve months and roughly $2 million later, Ridgeland boasts some of the most up-to-date technology in the region: 480 laptops, 42 in-class computer test-taking devices and digital blackboards, as well as a number of Apple iPods and iPads.