Middle school gets $25K to upgrade media center

MONROE — The Applegarth Middle School has been awarded a $25,000 grant to enhance its library/media center.

The school was one of 10 recipients of the OceanFirst Foundation’s new School Library and Media Center Enhancement Grant program. The grant announcement was made last week during an event at the Crystal Point Yacht Club in Point Pleasant. Grants were also awarded to six Ocean County schools and three schools in Monmouth County.

The Applegarth Middle School will use the grant money to eliminate outdated, unusable materials and to purchase hardware and software to automate its library. Media specialists from the township’s other schools will assist with the project along with volunteer parents and PTA members.

“This grant will allow us to automate our middle school library so that our students have the opportunity to access our collection of books via technology,” Superintendent of Schools Ralph Ferrie said. “It will also give them the ability to interconnect with the high school and public library systems, giving them full access to all resources.”

The grant program is designed to enrich the learning experience and encourage a love of reading and learning among students in the OceanFirst service area. The foundation received 133 applications from public and private schools. Each applicant that was not chosen for a $25,000 grant received gift certificates from Scholastic Books and Follett Library Resources, making the foundation’s total contribution for the program worth more than $280,000.

“School libraries and media centers play a critical role in a student’s academic and lifelong success, yet resources are limited,” OceanFirst Foundation Chairman John R. Garbarino said. “We believe this special initiative is consistent with a core priority of the foundation, which is to support positive youth development and education.”