TALLADEGA COUNTY — Talladega County Schools is moving forward with its quest to implement the 21st Century Learning Initiative as a system-wide learning tool.

The school system will be implementing 21st Century Model Classrooms in all of its high schools for the fall 2010 semester. Seven teachers among five high schools were selected by the county to be the first to follow the model set by Winterboro High School in 21st Century classroom and lesson structure.

“The goal was to spread 21st Century Learning to all the high schools, and this is an important step toward that,” said Superintendent Suzanne Lacey.

Like the model in Winterboro, these classrooms will be outfitted with new technologies and improved learning facilities. This includes individual computer stations for each student, SMART Boards, ELMO Projectors and other technologies.

Besides new classrooms, the selected teachers will undergo training in 21st Century Learning. This emphasizes real-world skills and projects that complement academic lessons. Emphases include creativity, entrepreneurship, communication, civic literacy and global awareness.

The classroom model recipients are Heather Harry of Munford High, Dawn Guy of Fayetteville High, Sharon Wright of Fayetteville High, Lesley Hutto of Talladega County Central High, Cynthia Wilburn of Talladega County Central High, Lori Reed of Childersburg and Emeka Barclay of B.B. Comer Memorial High.

“This takes our learning environment to a whole new level, and my students are excited about the changes to come,” said Wright.

Wilburn agreed that the change will be a benefit to her students.

“I am very excited about introducing this new way of educating students to TCCHS. Seeing the pilot program at Winterboro sparked my interest to see that type of project-based learning take place in my school. I am so glad that now I’ll have the opportunity to be a part of that process,” she said.

These teachers were selected through an application process. After applying, the teachers were chosen to by a selection committee for County Schools.

The classroom remodeling and training will be paid for by federal funds.

Winterboro has already been using 21st Century Learning this school year as the county’s model school. Lacey said that model has been a success in education and it is something that all the schools will benefit from.

“As superintendent, it’s always exciting to be able to implement ways to engage students and make sure they’re receiving the best possible education we can provide,” Lacey said.

Lacey hopes these new classrooms will replicate the work being done at Winterboro.

She said another ultimate goal is to incorporate more of the dual-classroom learning suites that Winterboro uses for collaborative teaching.