Toshiba Business Solutions Donates SmartBoard to St. Joseph's Villa Students: Villa Students and Toshiba Staff Take Part in SmartBoard Math Game March 12th

MARCH 12, 2009—The 9th and 10th grade students in Matt Kwiatkowski’s Geometry class at St. Joseph’s Villa are getting a whole new “feel” for math with the help of a SmartBoard, donated by Toshiba Business Solutions, that literally puts learning at their fingertips.

Toshiba donated and installed the equipment in Kwiatkowski’s Campus School classroom in January. Since that time, both teacher and students have been having fun getting acquainted with the SmartBoard and its endless learning applications.

Eager to demonstrate how they are incorporating the technology into their lessons, Kwiatkowski and his students invited Toshiba staff to participate in a math game using the SmartBoard on Thursday March 12, 2009. Following a brief lesson plan, Toshiba staff and students divided into teams and participated in a competition to solve geometry and algebra problems on the SmartBoard.

“The kids are so excited to show how they’ve been using the SmartBoard in class and to demonstrate the math skills they’ve developed as a result,” says Kwiatkowski, 27, who has taught math at the Villa for three years and is currently completing graduate coursework in educational technology at Nazareth College. “For me as a teacher, it’s like being a kid in a candy store. The SmartBoard offers so many ways to create lessons that are fun and active for the kids. We use it every day and the kids just love it.”

While many public and private schools, locally and nationwide, have begun to incorporate SmartBoards in their classrooms, Kwiatkowski says the SmartBoard is especially beneficial in an alternative education setting like St. Joseph’s Villa, where teachers are always looking for new ways to engage at-risk students. The Villa’s Campus School serves about 90 students who reside on the Villa’s Dewey Avenue campus. All of the students have emotional and behavioral health issues in addition to academic delays.

“For kids who have struggled in school in the past, this is a creative new way to reach them,” says Kwiatkowski, adding that the SmartBoard, with its colorful lighted screen, internet capabilities and wide array of educational and creative software, has been especially useful in helping his students learn graphing coordinates, geometric shapes and angles. “Everything you can do on a computer you can do on this, and more. Even kids who used to sit in the back of the room want to get up and touch and draw on the board, and once they’re up there in front of everyone, they want to show that they know the answers. It gets them involved and once they’re involved, they’re learning.”

This kind of learning would not be possible without a generous donation from Toshiba Business Solutions, a $60 million Rochester-based document management and office equipment company.

“We feel very strongly about enhancing the Rochester community by supporting the work of nonprofit agencies like St. Joseph’s Villa,” says Steven B. Sauer, President of Toshiba Business Solutions and AV Solutions. “Bringing this technology to Villa students gives them a whole new learning opportunity. It’s wonderful to be a part of that, and see the difference it makes to the students. It’s been a perfect fit for us.”

Toshiba Business Solutions is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toshiba America Business Solutions, supplying companies with document management software and office equipment such as copiers and printers. A $60 million company, Toshiba Business Solutions retains autonomy, local decision making and local leadership. Headquarters are in Rochester, NY with additional offices in Buffalo, Syracuse, Newburgh and Detroit. AV Solutions is owned by Toshiba Business Solutions and supplies audio-video equipment design and installation services.

Toshiba Business Solutions
150 Metro Park
Rochester, NY 14623
585-427-2222
tbsny.toshiba.com

St. Joseph’s Villa cares for kids in crisis. The private, nonprofit agency works with more than 2,000 boys and girls a year through a network of community programs tailored to the needs of children and families. The Villa helps boys and girls, most between the ages of 10 and 17, overcome emotional and behavioral health issues often associated with traumatic events or circumstances including abuse and neglect, poverty, loss, violence, mental health diagnoses and substance abuse. A strength-based, family-centered approach is used to help kids overcome challenges, return successfully to their families and schools and build positive lives in the community.

St. Joseph’s Villa
3300 Dewey Avenue
Rochester, NY 14616
585.865.1550
www.stjosephsvilla.org