Philadelphia students' business rebuilds donated computers for schools

By Martha Woodall
The Philadelphia Inquirer

PHILADELPHIA, PA - As soon as the rental truck pulled up to Roxborough High School, the employees from University City Computer Services Inc. began unloading the cargo of 32 computers and lugging them to a second-floor classroom.

The workers, many of them dressed in company-issued black jumpsuits, fanned out across the room, reached into their yellow tool boxes and went to work. They connected refurbished processors to monitors and keyboards, installed mice, plugged in the computers, and tested the programs. In less than an hour, a typing room was transformed into a computer lab where Roxborough students will learn keyboarding and word processing.

Raheem ``Rusty'' Hill, who had been tapped to oversee the company's first large-scale installation, surveyed the results. ``It worked really well,'' he said.

He and his classmates, Hill said, had ``put their best efforts into it.''' Indeed, it was a ``class'' project.

Hill, 18, a high school junior, is production manager of University City Computer Services. It's a student-run business and educational program at University City High School, where students rebuild donated computers.

``These kids have come a long way since September,'' said Anne Urevick, a math, physics and computer-services teacher who moved from Edison High School last summer to establish the program. ``Right now, I would say that some of them are employable as computer technicians. They are not intimidated by the equipment. They catch on fast.''

Most of the 22 students in the company are enrolled in Computer Technology and Publications, one of nine specialized charters that group University City's 2,100 students into smaller, self-contained learning clusters.

They overhaul machines donated primarily by federal agencies getting new equipment. The used machines are funneled to the school through the West Philadelphia empowerment zone. The refurbished units are offered for sale at modest prices to community residents and others who visit the school on Mondays through Wednesdays between 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. A computer with a 386 processor, for example -- a cutting-edge PC a decade ago -- retails at University City Computer Services Inc. for $250.

``When we started, a lot of what was donated were old XT's and 286's,'' said Robert Flitter, a business instructor who teaches in the program. ``We turned nothing down... We sold the XT's for $25. They were basically sold to the community, to parents and teachers who had a 7- or 8-year-old who wanted to play games... We had one parent who told us: `My child plays with a cardboard box acting like it's a computer.'''

Since the program began in September, University City has sold 300 refurbished machines.

Educators say the students are not only mastering skills necessary to become professionally certified computer network administrators, but they also are gaining other valuable experiences.

``I think the kids are learning a lot about entrepreneurship and about starting up and maintaining a business,'' said James H. Lytle, the University City principal who came up with the computer project.

``What I like about this program is that it is captivating and engrossing,'' he said. ``It is the kind of thing that is motivational for kids, and that is evident in terms of the time and energy they put into it.''

About half of the students in the program, he said, had been marginal students whose attendance had been spotty at best. Now, although students are only required to spend three periods with Urevick, no one budges when the dismissal bell rings. ``I stay here every night until 6:30 or so,'' said Urevick, who volunteers the additional hours. ``So do the students. I have to push them out of here.''

Urevick arrived at University City on the last day of school in June. She met Ethan Lamb, who had just completed his sophomore year and had some computer experience. Together, they looked over the two rooms in the basement where the program would be housed.

``They were filled with cardboard boxes ... with junk in them,'' Urevick recalled. ``I told Ethan, `I'm going to volunteer my time this summer. Will you volunteer yours?''' Lamb said he would. And a few days later, he was joined by Keith Evans, Ijlal Bassett and Tolonia Sutton.

They spent the summer cleaning, painting and organizing the room.

``Since they put their souls and bodies and hearts into this, I allowed these four students to interview the next prospective students,'' Urevick said. ``I try to give them as much control as possible. I try to be a mentor.''

During interviews, students were asked about their computer experience, but that was not the most important criterion. ``It was more about your attitude and how you get along with others,'' said Bassett, a senior who presides over the nonprofit corporation. ``It was also about whether you were willing to actually work, because there was a lot of hard work.''

Few students had much computer experience before joining the program, but everyone was given a donated computer to dismantle. ``Take it totally apart,'' Urevick told them. ``It's yours.''

She led them through the process of reconditioning their machines. ``They all went through it once, and I guess is wasn't as intimidating because it was theirs,'' Urevick said.

Urevick follows Pennsylvania's computer-service technology curriculum and the training program for network administrators developed by Novell, a Utah firm that has set international standards for the technology field.

The students are organized into teams with specific tasks. When they are working on a job order, they are paid between $6 and $8 an hour by their company, which makes the money from the sale of the donated computers it refurbishes.

Because it's a nonprofit corporation, donations of computers from individuals are tax-deductible. The money made from the order from Roxborough High School for a total of 78 reconditioned computers -- the largest project to date -- will be used to operate the computer-repair program this summer.

Howard Leight, head of Roxborough's business department, planned to replace his school's electronic typewriters with computers but expected to do it gradually because of the cost. Then he heard about University City's program.

In addition to readying the next batch of machines for Roxborough, some students are preparing to take the Novell exam for network administrators. Although Novell introduced a curriculum for secondary schools a year ago, students take the regular network administrator test.

``It is given by an independent third party,'' Flitter noted. ``If they pass, they are certified. And from what I understand, there are jobs out there waiting.''

Jennifer J. Johnson, a spokeswoman for Novell Education, said University City is among only 120 secondary schools in the nation in the program. ``It is unusual now, but it is the wave of the future,'' she said. `This is a powerful thing they are doing, offering training at a high school that may include at-risk kids. The training becomes an economic equalizer.''

Although the prospect of an entry-level technical job is appealing, most students regard that as only the first step in their careers.

``I'm the type that would rather go to college and take this to a higher educational level,'' said Frank Gay, 17.

``I anticipate a lot of these kids will go to college and probably support themselves by fixing computers down the hall,'' Lytle said. ``I have a suspicion a lot of them don't realize how valuable the skills are they have learned.''

Gerald Robinson, 19, does. Although he expects to land a computer job, he says he's learning things from University City Computer Services even more important than technical skills.

``This teaches me about responsibility,'' Robinson said. ``It teaches me about self-conduct... It teaches how to cooperate and communicate with other people while doing your activities. I see using this to go through life.''