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PHILANTHROPY
BSC uses Community Foundation grant to build digital
classrooms on campus and beyond
Just a year after Birmingham-Southern launched its
cutting-edge high-tech classroom on campus, the college has
been asked to replicate the project at a high school in rural
Locust Fork, Ala.
BSC received a $120,000 grant from the Community
Foundation of Greater Birmingham to design and build
two blended learning classrooms, one on campus and one
at Locust Fork High School in rural Blount County. The
classrooms—which are modeled after BSC’s first foray into
digital learning, Olin 205—will link the college and high
school students in an effort to boost graduation rates in
Blount County.
The partnership between Birmingham-Southern, Locust
Fork High, the Blount County Board of Education, and
the Blount County Education Foundation will include
mentoring opportunities for BSC students, on-campus
speakers broadcast live to the high school, college and career
prep, and online interaction between faculty and staff from
the two schools.
“This partnership would not be possible without the
generosity of the Community Foundation of Greater
Birmingham and its supporters,” said John Sweeney, BSC’s
director of development for corporate and foundation
relations. “The relationship between CFGB and the college
has always been a strong one, and this grant strengthens our
bond as BSC reaches beyond the gates to an underserved
community. We hope this project will be an example
for future collaborations between the college and
communities in our area.”
The Locust Fork classroom opened at the beginning
of the school year, and Toby Holmes, the Locust Fork
social studies teacher who is piloting the classroom, says
he has already seen his students inspired by their digital
lessons, such as a virtual visit to the Sistine Chapel.
“Some kids told me they went home and looked up
other works by Michelangelo,” Holmes reported. “One
student even looked up the other major Renaissance
artists to compare and pick their favorite—and that was
not a student who would normally do this! I feel like
the technology is already having an impact in this very
early stage.”
Foundation and corporate grants are an important
opportunity for businesses and foundations to engage
with BSC. Grants provide the resources for faculty and
staff to dream of the possibilities of education and
the impact it can have throughout our Birmingham-
Southern footprint. If you are associated with a
corporation or foundation and would like more
information on opportunities with BSC, please contact
Sweeney at or (205) 226-4910.
Blended learning classroom at Locust Fork High School