TECH CORPS Texas’ successful summer program, The Community Help Desk, is moving to local charter school Leader’s Academy. Beginning January 11, the program, at no cost to students, will last 2 hours a day three times a week, until the end of the school year, giving students the extended access and increased exposure to technology they need to complete the curriculum. The special curriculum designed to engage students through intensive technology education coursework, supervised learning activities, and the exploration of educational and career pathways, will prepare students to succeed in today’s technology-charged global workforce.
The school-based pilot program fits perfectly with the Leader’s Academy mission statement; to ensure the academic, social, and professional success of students through cutting edge technology, while creating a strong sense of personal accountability and civic consciousness. Personal accountability as a part of the global workforce of tomorrow will be secured today with student participation in the pilot program, which will train young people with marketable professional skills.
“We will bring professionals in to talk to the students about different career options,” says TECH CORPS Texas President, Danny Perry, “students can expect to be prepared to test for A+ level certification, as well as other industry level certifications.”
Made possible by grants from the Gulf Coast Community Services, and the efforts of TECH CORPS Texas, this program is part of a greater government stimulus plan to jump-start the economy by teaching the youth of America the relevant technology skills needed to contribute to the betterment of the individual, and the individual’s community.
“Some of the goals of this program,” explains Perry, “is to provide instruction to this particular group of students in technology based applications/careers, and define the pathways necessary to achieve their goals.”
Why is Leader’s Academy the best place to initiate such efforts? “Leaders Academy has the student population we are looking for, and the space and amenities needed to leverage both our resources in order to make the pilot Community Help Desk program a success,” says Perry. This is the first program of its kind at Leader’s Academy, a computer-based credit recovery institution, which serves high school students who feel that they “would be a much better student if a computer could be his/her tool for learning.”
“I think a program like The Community Help Desk, which allows students to participate in hands-on projects and presents them with all of the practical and professional applications to technology,” says Elva Moore, “will help those students who are combination learners and need direct engagement, to be more focused. “ Considering students at The Leader’s Academy are strong independent workers, moving at their own pace, Moore adds “I think The Community Help Desk will help the students to concentrate and develop better study habits, while exploring the field of technology.”
The program, while initially involving only 15 students, hand-picked through an interview process, hopes to set a good example of how the program will function, eventually growing to include up to 50 students. “We are interviewing students for the first fifteen slots,” says Perry, “to sign-up the most motivated students for the pilot program. If students have to sign up, and then agree to be interviewed, there is automatically a higher chance that they will succeed, because they have shown a desire to be involved.”
With new HISD superintendent Dr. Terry Grier showing strong support for technology in the classroom, it is likely that most schools will move towards more computer-integrated curriculums, putting even more importance on programs such as the Community Help Desk which aim to give students a much better understanding of computer hardware/software, networking, and digital/social media,” says Perry.
“If the pilot program is successful, which we hope it will be“says Assistant Principal Elva Moore, “we can help build awareness in the HISD, and help set an example for the current professional and educational trend, which is more and more heavily involved in technology.” “Technology,” she continues, “is the future for all of us, not just those students involved in virtual education. The more computer literate our students are, the better their chance to succeed.”
