Parent Teacher Magazine Union County Public Schools January 2014 | Page 12

Surprise gift from Dollar General shocks
Wingate Elementary

Wingate Elementary School has a very special literacy partner – Dollar
General, who recently provided the school with a $40,000 “special surprise.”
“The wonderful donation stemmed from the dedication of Wingate’s local
Dollar General store and the store manager, Diane Cammarata,” said school
principal Dr. Mike Henderson.
The Oct. 11, 2013, presentation, which was given to support the school’s
literacy program, was presented before first-grade students in Caitlin Wood
Wetzel’s class, school faculty, and parents from the Wingate Parent Teacher
Organization.
As Dr. Henderson unwrapped the gift, shock rippled throughout the
Wingate media center.
“While we have had an ongoing partnership with Dollar General, we
were utterly amazed at the amount of the donation to our school,” Dr.
Henderson said. “We are blessed to have such strong advocates for our
school in Dollar General and Ms. Cammarata.”
Henderson added that Ms. Cammarata “tirelessly advocates for support
of literacy programs and Wingate Elementary School.”
Written by: Wingate Elementary Principal Dr. Mike Henderson

Wingate Elementary Principal Dr. Mike Henderson, center,
and Wingate’s Media Specialist Denise Helms are stunned
by the generosity of school partner Dollar General.

UCPS students, teachers earn 3,293 Microsoft certifications
Nearly three years after the launch
of the nation’s first statewide Microsoft
IT Academy, North Carolina students and
teachers have earned more than 100,000
professional certifications through the
innovative program.
Of that number, Union County Public
Schools teachers and students have
earned a total of 3,293 certifications
through the academy. There were 65 in
2011; 1,681 in 2012; 1,398 in 2013; and
149 earned so far for 2014.
North Carolina Public Schools was the
first state education agency in the country
to enter into an agreement with Microsoft
to pilot the Microsoft IT Academy (MSITA),
which provides high school students with
real-world technology skills they need to
be successful in college and career.
MSITA provides students, teachers,
and faculty and staff an opportunity
to improve skills and earn industry
certifications. North Carolina has paved
the way for over ten new states that
have come on board since North Carolina
deployed the program in 2010.
Students, educators, and support staff
are all eligible to earn Microsoft Office
Specialist (MOS) certifications through the
IT Academy program.
Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA)
and Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) are
available through business, finance, and IT
education courses to students.
Teachers also have the option of
earning the Microsoft Certified Educator
10 • January/February 2014 • Parent Teacher Magazine 

Students at Porter Ridge High School work in
the computer lab at school

(MCE) and Microsoft Certified Trainer
(MCT) certifications through the program.
Certification licenses are offered by
(Microsoft’s partner) Certiport.
Students involved in the IT Academy
have access to a multitude of resources
including Microsoft Digital Literacy for
those new to computing, Microsoft’s
e-Learning Curriculum with more than
200 multimedia courses, Career Forward,
SkyDrive, Office 365, and other valuable
Microsoft resources not available to the
general public. Students can access
many of those programs wherever they
have a computer.
The IT Academy consists of a
software and curriculum package that
provides schools with the most upto-date technology and curriculum
resources to teach on the latest
technology.
Curriculum includes Microsoft Official
Academic Course (MOAC) eBooks
(digital textbooks), e-Learning courses
- web-based modules and instruction,
which allow students to learn things
like Microsoft computer programs such
as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint,
and Access, all at their own pace. Test
banks, projects and exam review kit are
also available to provide teachers with
resources to prepare their students for
certification.

--This article was provided courtesy