$15,000 prize buys school technology

Debbie Ferguson got a memorable Valentine’s gift on Wednesday — and one that permitted her to help her school.

The Adams Elementary School first-grade teacher successfully applied last fall for the Best Buy Teach Award, which provides $2,500 in classroom technology from the retail chain. Winners of the award were invited to apply for a larger one worth $15,000. On Wednesday, representatives from Best Buy stopped at Adams and let Ferguson know that she had won.

“It was a great surprise on Valentine’s Day,” said Ferguson, who has taught at Adams for eight years and coordinates the school’s technology programs.

The $2,500 that Ferguson won last year went to equip her classroom with digital cameras, microphones, iPods and other technology. With the larger award, Ferguson planned to provide the same equipment to every class at Adams. She expected to receive the materials from Best Buy within a month.

The recording devices, Ferguson said, gave a boost to students learning English, since they could brush up on pronunciation by listening to themselves read.

“I have a lot of English-language learners, and talking the stories really improves their fluency,” she said.

Adams Principal Candy Cloud had heard about the Best Buy Teach Award on Tuesday but opted to let the visitors surprise Ferguson the day after. The school, she said, had pushed in recent years to include more technology in class.

“Debbie has been kind of on the forefront of it,” Cloud said. “She’s headed up our technology team here, and she has a wealth of knowledge. Obviously, she knows how to put it to use.”