Students at a Catholic school being built in Hudson will have wireless Internet access and take tests and do homework on laptop computers.
By REBECCA CATALANELLO
Published July 13, 2003
HUDSON - The blue widgets about 8 feet up on the walls of the new classrooms are inconspicuous now.
But, in a month, those doohickeys - technically called "access points" - will give the entire faculty and student body at the new $22-million Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School campuswide wireless Internet access.
Campuswide wireless access, that is, which students and teachers can tap into from their school-issued Gateway laptops - one for each student and teacher.
"I don't know of any other high school where you can get that," said Susan Genua, mother of Gabrielle, 14.
As Pasco County's first Catholic high school, Bishop McLaughlin was designed with the state-of-the-art in mind: an 880-seat performing arts center with an extensive catwalk, a kiln-equipped art department, a plethora of athletic fields sprawled across its 89-acre property, and science labs that biology teachers only dream about.
With all of those perks, the school's designers couldn't not make technology a priority. And according to principal Jane Moerschbacher, the idea for the wireless access came straight from the top: Bishop Robert Lynch.
"He was the one who really drove it to be a technologically savvy program," said Joseph Schorr, director of information technology for the Diocese of St. Petersburg.
The school opens Aug. 11 to a small class of about 50 freshmen and a tight-knit group of teachers and administrators. Tuition runs $5,000-plus a year.
Schorr said the intimate size should help the school quickly jump any technological hurdles.
Cordless, but wired-in, students will be able to take their tests on the laptops, do their homework on the laptops and communicate with their teachers on the laptops. Parents will be given access codes to follow their students' daily progress online.
"We're working to set the standard," Moerschbacher said.
The new Bishop McLaughlin was built to meet what the diocese identified as a growing demand for faith-based high schools in the Pasco, Hernando and North Hillsborough areas.
While first-year enrollment might be lower than the 100 the school had hoped for, Moerschbacher and her staff said they have every intention of forging ahead.
In an atmosphere where overcrowded classrooms have captured headlines, the small size will be a plus, she said.
Student demand will dictate student activities.
There are athletic fields to accommodate football, soccer, baseball and softball. A gleaming 1,200-seat gymnasium suits volleyball, basketball and just about anything else students decide they want to play. All students have to do, school guidance counselor John Mayer said, is speak up and say they want to play.
"We're going to have the teams, we just need the bodies," he said.
The new Bishop McLaughlin was built to meet what the diocese identified as a growing demand for faith-based high schools in the Pasco, Hernando and North Hillsborough areas.
Rebecca Williams, mother of 13-year-old Grace, said she was more than ready to have a Catholic school option near her Hernando Beach home.
The building, amenities and laptops were an added benefit, she said: "If they've spent that kind of time and effort on the building, I know they're going to do a great job on her education."
- Rebecca Catalanello covers education in Pasco County. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6241 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6241. Her e-mail address is rcatalanello@sptimes.com
