August 13, 1997

For Immediate Release (Briggs)   RE: STUDENTS BUILD 60 PENTIUM COMPUTERS FOR NEW SCHOOL School-to-Career Students Gain Real World Experience When school opens Sept. 2, students at the district's new Monroe Clark Middle School will begin using 60 new Pentium computers built especially for them by other students in the district. The computers were produced by students during a six-week summer school course which is part of the district's school-to-career program. Students being trained in computer repair at Madison and Morse high schools were taught how to put together the computers in one of the district's many regional occupational programs (ROP). Each computer, made up of 15 new components, was assembled, tested and installed with the necessary operating systems and applications software. Bill Strong, a district School-to-Career program manager, estimates the computers built by the students saved the district $20,000. "It's remarkable to see what our students have done," said Strong. "The greatest benefit, however, is that students were introduced to the world of work and gained a better understanding of career opportunities in the computer field." Other district students enrolled in the construction and cabinet making section of the ROP program were responsible for making the 45 modular work stations in which many of the computers will be located. While the modular work stations have already been put in place at the new school, the computer work stations are expected to be installed and networked later this month. The new computers and work stations will be used by students enrolled in a new school-to-career program which is believed to be the first of its kind in the country. During each period of the day, 90 students will participate in self-directed courses of study in the areas of business/marketing, family and consumer sciences and industrial technology. Supervised by a team of teaching specialists from each of the three areas, students will work in pairs at the modular work stations and will rotate every 10 days to a module covering a new subject. Clark Middle School is the first school in the district to be built specifically for use as a middle school. The grouping of students in middle schools, grades 6-8, began in the 1980s. All other middle schools in the district are at facilities built as elementary or junior high schools. Monroe Clark Middle School is located at 4388 Thorn St. and will serve the residents of the City Heights/Mid-City area. The Clark Middle and Parks Elementary schools are the first new schools to be built within the City Heights/Mid-City area since Rowan Elementary was constructed in 1955. With the opening of Clark and three other new schools, the district will operate 165 schools and serve an estimated 1997-98 enrollment of 137,000 students. Editors Note: For more information, please contact Bill Strong, School-to-Career program manager, at (619) 225-3451, or Frank Petersen, Clark principal, at (619) 641-7790. Monroe Clark's new phone number will be (619) 563-6801.