Lake Central High School's Gold Star War Memorial will soon get an interactive component.
It currently consists of plaques hung on a wall honoring former students who died while serving in the military. The second phase takes that further by adding a touch screen exhibit, according to Assistant Principal Joe Stanisz.
"We are going to learn more about their stories, those people on the wall, but also the stories of those students that walked the walls every day in this school," Stanisz said during Monday's school board meeting.
The Lake Central Education Foundation presented a grant for almost $8,681, during Monday's meeting. That will cover the cost of an interactive screen from TouchPros, a company that Lake Central's athletic department has used in the past.
That could be used to show profiles of alumni who've served in the military and photos of military-focused events at the school. Stanisz said he keeps coming up with new ideas for how it could be used.
"We can put maps," Stanisz noted. "We can make it interactive. We could put letters. I know [teacher] Tom [Clark] has letters that some of these former military personnel have sent to their parents, things like that. We can do interviews. We can make it as personable as we want. So I think this is an opportunity to make this thing incredibly awesome."
School officials also hope it will help Lake Central High School get a Purple Star designation. It's given by the Indiana Department of Education to schools that show commitment to veterans, service members and military families.
