Computer repair class pays dividends for schools

Friday, Dec. 6, 2002 | 2 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION: Dec. 7, 2002

When Coronado High School senior Brad Dean was in grade school, he didn't have a computer. Now he's taking a class in which he repairs donated machines for younger students to use.

"I like the fact that computers we're fixing are going back to the students," Dean said Tuesday. "I wish I had a computer in school when I was little."

Dean and the other students enrolled in teacher Sam Winn's computer science class are part of the InterAct Exchange. Sponsored by the Clark County Public Education Foundation, the program repairs and refurbishes donated computers before distributing them to schools that need the machines.

The foundation was created 10 years ago to provide scholarships, assistance with grant applications, classroom funds, technology and teacher resources. Its members include area businesses, county government agencies and nonprofit organizations.

Since its inception, the foundation has raised more than $20 million for educational programs in Clark County schools, largely from private-sector donors, said Sig Rogich, chairman of the foundation's board.

The InterAct Exchange is just one of the innovative programs funded through the foundation, Rogich said.

"We get our best ideas from teachers," Rogich said. "We give them the financial support to make those ideas happen, whether for science projects, new reading programs, the list just goes on and on. It's very rewarding to see."

The InterAct Exchange is a prime example of the way that one successful program funded by the foundation can breed others. Plans are to expand the program beyond computers, said David Crist, director of technology and special projects for the foundation. The foundation is starting a warehouse of basic classroom supplies, from paper and pencils to recycled containers and art supplies. Eventually teachers will be able to visit the warehouse and "shop" for their students.

Foundation officials hope that concept will be as big a hit as Winn's lessons in computer repair.

Winn, a former computer industry employee who is in his first year of teaching, said his students had anxiously awaited this week's arrival of the first batch of broken computers.

"Every day it's been: 'Are they here yet? When are they coming?,' " Winn said. "They're all very excited to put what they've learned to work."

Coronado junior William Gallios said he enrolled in Winn's class for practical reasons.

"When we get out of college, we're going to face a tough job market and computer skills will always be a big asset," said Gallios, whose father owns a computer company. "We might as well get the education now while we're in high school and be prepared."

The program has been a two-way winner, Crist said. The computer science students get hands-on experience and schools get extra equipment.

"It's a three-way winner if you count the tax deduction for the person who donates the computer," Crist said.