SEPTEMBER 2014: The Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission (MHCRC) announces the launch of the TechSmart Initiative for Student Success with plans to strategically invest about $19 million over the next 10 years in local public schools to positively impact academic outcomes for all students in Multnomah County.
The MHCRC TechSmart Initiative has partnered with Portland State University to provide grants and evaluation resources for Multnomah County School Districts to identify effective classroom instruction that uses technology to foster improvement in academic outcomes for all students and to share the successful strategies across Districts.
The MHCRC has aligned the TechSmart Initiative with the collective effort of the broader community engaged in the All Hands Raised Partnership, and is partnering to make progress on the following academic outcomes key to student success:
- Kindergarten Readiness
- English Language Learners’ Annual Progress
- Third Grade Reading
- Eighth Grade Math
- Ninth Grade Credit Attainment
- High School Graduation
“The MHCRC is thrilled to be working alongside so many others who understand that success of our youth is key to the success of our communities,” said Carol Studenmund, MHCRC Chair and Multnomah County MHCRC representative. “Through the TechSmart Initiative, the District’s will gain critical resources to discover how to best use technology in teaching and learning to improve outcomes for all students.”
The MHCRC plans to invest $8 million in the first three years of the TechSmart Initiative with an additional $11 million in funding available through 2021. David Douglas School District and Parkrose School District were the first districts to receive TechSmart Initiative funding this Fall.
Funds for the TechSmart Initiative derive from the cable services franchises negotiated by the MHCRC with Comcast, Frontier and Reliance Connects. The cable companies pay three percent of their gross revenues for video services in Multnomah County to support community uses of cable system technology, including funding for the MHCRC’s Community Grants program. Cable companies enter into franchise agreements in order to use the public right of way for their business purposes.
