By Keith Lawrence

iPads, Chromebooks, a greenhouse, bean bag chairs, soft seats and ottomans — the classrooms in Daviess County Public Schools are a'changing.

"I'm not saying there aren't any traditional classrooms left," said Julie Clark, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning. "But we're becoming more innovative in personalizing learning for students."

Last year, 17 teachers in the school system were involved in creating strategies to give students "a voice and a choice" in how they learn.

This year, they're putting those strategies to work in classrooms at five schools in the district.

The kid-FRIENDLy project — a $41 million effort that includes 22 Kentucky school districts in the Green River Regional and Ohio Valley educational cooperatives — provided $12,500 this year for Daviess County teachers to refine practices they have developed "based on the premise that students who direct their own learning will develop the initiative, responsibility and ability to plan, prioritize and problem-solve."

The kid-FRIENDLy project is funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

Clark said Daviess County schools will receive $1.3 million in direct aid from the four-year grant, which runs through next year.

In addition, she said, the district has received other assistance that is paid for by the cooperatives using money from the $41 million grant.

"I've been here since 2001 and this is the largest grant we've received since then," Clark said.

Locally, the $12,500 is being used for the following projects:

East View Elementary School — Build and maintain an on-site greenhouse and purchase of Chromebooks and other technology.

Burns Middle School — Purchase iPads to develop individual learning strategies where students can view lessons, conduct research and review concepts at their own pace.

Daviess County Middle School — Continue implementation of self-paced learning with the purchase of iPad minis, Chromecast, speakers and other materials.

Highland Elementary School — Create personalized learning stations with new chairs, bean bag chairs, soft seats and ottomans to encourage independence and self-motivation.

Audubon Elementary School — Provide students with "warm, kid-friendly environment" that includes a variety of seating options that allow students to explore and master content at their own pace.

"We're trying to be more innovative and actively involve students in learning," Clark said.

She said she believes the U.S. Department of Education provided the grant to western Kentucky schools because "they were looking for rural areas with plans in place to increase college and career readiness."

kid-FRIENDLy stands for "Kids — Focused, Responsible, Imaginative, Engaged, Determined to Learn."