John Rex Receives $130,000 in Grants from Oklahoma Educational Technology Trust

We are incredibly excited to announce John Rex Charter School has received $130,000 in grants from the Oklahoma Educational Technology Trust (OETT)! The elementary school and middle school each received $65,000, with part of the grants allotted for professional development training through the K20 Center in Norman.

“These grants will make a huge difference to our current students and allow us to better serve future generations of John Rex Rockets,” said Head of School Dean Ketchum. “We looked forward to witnessing imaginations, creativity and learning soar.”

The elementary school will use the grant money to purchase 121 iPads for children in grades pre-K through second.

“This technology will allow our early childhood teachers to provide more opportunities for taking photos of students’ work, annotating their work, creating videos and projects with apps and giving our kids unlimited access to expand their learning,” said Lana Ingram, director of elementary education.

The middle school will use its grant to create an esports program integrated into the core curriculum and purchase 13 gaming computers, three PlayStations, three Nintendo Switches, a variety of esports games, microphones and streaming and lighting equipment.

“Esports create an interactive and engaging environment for students to refine soft skills needed for college, career and beyond,” said Patrick Duffy, director of secondary education. “Providing the equipment needed to participate in esports supports our students’ abilities to become modern learners and will elevate our school’s curriculum through authentic, personalized and impactful learning opportunities.”