Alan Shepard Technology In Education Award

The School-To-Work/Technology Enrichment Program, implemented by Byrnes, prepares kindergarten through fifth grade students for the 21st century workforce.  Students in every grade level manage their own business while strengthening their economic, technology and interpersonal skills.  There is a kindergarten florist shop, a first-grade post office, a second-grade toy store and software business, a third-grade consignment shop/supermarket/recycling center, a fourth-grade printing business and a fifth-grade multimedia business.  Using computers, scanners, printers, cash registers, quick- and digital video cameras, as well as several software programs, students market their products to parents and the other students, manage their records, analyze their data and evaluate the results.  They all earn "classroom currency" wages and spend these earnings at the other stores.  The program, the first of its kind in Florida, takes place once a  week and has been in existence for two years.