Supporting Equity, Innovation, and Lifelong Learning in Howard County Public Schools
Supporting Equity, Innovation, and Lifelong Learning in Howard County Public Schools
By John-John Williams IV - December 6, 2009
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One hundred students at Wilde Lake, Oakland Mills, Murray Hill and Patuxent Valley middle schools were recently given Internet-ready desktop computers and printers in an attempt to close the digital divide at home. The gifts are part of the Computers for Students Program, a collaboration between the Bright Minds Foundation, a Howard County public schools group that addresses equity issues, and the Lazarus Foundation, a nonprofit computer-refurbishing organization.
Leaders from the two foundations say the project is aimed at closing the "digital divide" - gaps in access to technology among socioeconomic groups. About 74 percent of students in Maryland public schools have access to computers at home, according to the most recent survey of students conducted in 2007 by the Maryland State Department of Education, up from 59.4 percent in 2003. Howard County led the state with 87.6 percent. Thirty Wilde Lake Middle School students who didn't have computers at home received the equipment.
"They were really excited," said Wilde Lake Middle Principal Tom Saunders. "They were more excited afterwards. The equipment that they got was pretty state-of-the-art. It wasn't something that was clearly a hand-me-down from someone."
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When Saunders met with some of the students a couple weeks ago, he said the students told him that the computers were "so cool." "They said it was definitely helping their grades," said Saunders, who explained that the students who received computers will be able to access some of the school's Internet-based programs, including a math game and a real-time teacher grade book.
The most recent computers are part of a $1 million campaign called "Bridging the Digital Divide," according to Doug Hostetler, chairman of Bright Minds. To date, the group has received $425,000 in gifts for the program.
Students are chosen for the program after schools identify which students have no computer access at home. The Computers for Students program comes with a catch: Students must attend a two-hour instruction course along with their parents.
While some school systems have attempted to provide computer access to students, such as Talbot County, which gives all freshmen laptops to use throughout their high school careers, none have found a way to equip every student from elementary to high school with a computer at home. As a result, many schools have turned to organizations and partnerships to increase students' access at home.
Copyright @ 2009, The Baltimore Sun
Ninety Howard County families of middle school students will soon have home computers for the first time thanks to the efforts of the Bright Minds Foundation, an educational foundation for Howard County public schools established to help address equity issues.
The Computers for Students Program, a collaborative initiative of the Bright Minds Foundation and the Lazarus Foundation, a local community-based non-profit computer refurbishing organization, provides free refurbished, upgraded computers and new printers to selected students who currently do not have home computers.
Bright Minds Foundation Chairman Doug Hostetler says the program addresses a fundamental equity issue. “This is exactly why the education foundation was established, to make sure that the playing field is level. Many of us take our home computers for granted, but for others in our community they are still a luxury. We know that students today are academically disadvantaged if they don’t have access to a computer.”
Five Howard County middle schools were selected to participate in this round of the program: Dunloggin, Murray Hill, Mayfield Woods, Oakland Mills and Patuxent Valley.
Harper’s Choice and Wilde Lake middle schools participated in a pilot of the program in December 2008, when 16 families received computers.
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Applications were distributed to students at the five schools in mid-February and principals urged eligible students to apply. The only stipulation to receiving the free computer was that the students and their parents agree to attend a 2½ -hour workshop.
The selected students and their parents will attend one of four workshops being offered on March 21 and April 4. During the workshop, they will learn how to set up the computer and printer at home, as well as how to use the computer to create and print a document. At the end of the workshop, they take home an Internet-ready personal computer system.
The hardware includes a monitor with keyboard and mouse, a printer, and a flash drive, and a comes with a one-year warranty.
Each computer is equipped with Microsoft XP Professional, Microsoft Office 2003 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), AntiVirus Software, and Adobe Reader.
The workshops will be held at the school system’s Applications and Research Lab, 10920 Route 108 in Ellicott City, at the following times.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Hostetler, along with Bright Minds Foundation Board members Feli Sola-Carter and Brian Hubbard, will welcome the students and their parents to the workshops. Don Bard, president of the Lazarus Foundation, and six Lazarus Associates will assist with the workshops, along with 16 high school student mentors, 12 students from the AHS Future Educators Association and ROTC, and four students ARL PC Academy.
“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”
