Down in the southwest corner of our state the State Library, High School and Public Library have formed a great partnership.  Before the State Library began working with Microsoft to provide free access to IT Academy training courses for all Washington residents, our public High Schools offered the trainings to their students.  Kalama students have been taking IT Academy classes for several years, in fact their students routinely qualify to represent Washington state at the Microsoft Office Specialist World Championships each year.  Along with providing access to hundreds of IT Academy classes the State Library’s program also provides free exam vouchers to over 20 sites across Washington who have agreed to offer the exams to the public.  Kathy Schmit, Business & Technology Instructor at Kalama High school, saw this as an opportunity to help the community as well as help her students.  MOS certified Kalama High school students are offering in-person classes to their community members for $100 which includes the price of the exam, including one free retake, as well as the course itself.  The exam alone, even without the accompanying instruction, normally costs $150.  The money raised from teaching the classes is a fundraiser for the school’s Future Business Leaders of America club.  Interest is already high with a predicted 20 people thinking of taking classes this summer.  This all sounds like a win/win to me.