Nicholasville native Walker Montgomery will make his 2019 debut performance at West Jessamine High School Feb. 9 in an effort to help Jessamine County Schools fund its Chromebook project.

“This is the first show we are doing, and luckily it is in Jessamine County, which is not a far drive,” Montgomery said. “I thought that would be a good little thing to raise some money for. Anything to help out Jessamine County. It is going to be a fun show.”

The concert will start at 7 p.m. Feb. 9 at WJHS, located at 2101 Wilmore Road. Tickets can be purchased for $30 by visiting jessedfoundation.com.

The JCS Chromebook project was an idea of Supt. Matt Moore who wanted to be able to provide enough Chromebooks for every student from fourth through 12th grade in the district by 2020.

“Individual devices provide multiple advantages for our students to include the promotion of a more engaging learning opportunity,” Moore said. “The devices allow a teacher to differentiate the lessons for individual students and for students to be challenged at levels that match their instructional abilities and needs. 

“Students can also benefit from individual devices because they can have more control over the pace of the instruction. They may need to spend more time on something that is more challenging for them, or progress at a faster pace when they have mastered the content.”

Brian Gillispie said JCS has held fundraising initiatives for years which went to completing many of the schools in Jessamine County.

Unfortunately, Gillispie said, many of the schools in the district still did not have the necessary funds to supply its students with Chromebooks.

“Even with funds from this concert, I am afraid we still will not have enough money to fund all the schools and I am hoping the generosity of our community will carry this project over the finish line,” Gillispie said. “If we are successful, we will be one of the only public school systems in the state to have accomplished this through funding from community organizations and individuals.”

The hope is to raise $5,000 from the concert early next month, all of which will be donated towards the purchase of Chromebooks for Jessamine County students.

A special VIP event will be held before the concert for those who wish to meet Montgomery and enjoy refreshments.

“We would love people to come out and support this for two reasons:  first, this will help provide valuable technology to our students,” Gillispie said. “When our schools are successful, our entire community benefits.  Second, Walker is a native of Jessamine County and we want to show him how proud this community is of him.”

“I am just excited for the show. It is going to be a really good show, and hopefully they don’t mind some butt shaking at school,” Montgomery said.