Round Rock High Schoolers Repair Old Computers for Students in Need

Broken computers once locked away in a warehouse as junk are now being fixed and distributed to families in need.

And a lot of the credit goes to students at some Round Rock high schools.

Career and technical education students at Cedar Ridge, McNeil and Stony Point high schools have been able to gain computer repair skills while participating in an interdistrict program since last spring, according to an article on the Round Rock Independant School District Website.

The Home Access Program is a partnership between the school district’s technology and information services, purchasing and warehouse departments. Its goal is to repair old and computers from school district campuses and distribute the refurbished machines to families at Title 1 schools, Mark Gabehart — executive director of technology and information services of the school district — told Patch.

“As a school district we gather all the old laptops at the end of the school year, and we bring them to the warehouse. We then decide which can be repaired by students, which are too far gone and then which of these laptops we will do ourselves at the warehouse to get them ready,” Gabehart said.

• Want more Round Rock news? Click here for our daily newsletter and news alerts.

The project was started when the school district’s board changed a policy, allowing laptops in the district warehouse to be repaired and gifted free of charge to Title 1 students. During the school year the computers remain school property, but at the end of the year they are fully gifted.

The program is helping Title 1 families, but it’s also helping students interested in technology and electronics repair.

“It’s a very positive experience for the teachers and for the students that really get hands-on experience in their classes,” Gabehart told patch.

And the student’s hard work is paying off.

In the spring of 2015, 350 computers were distributed to Title 1 families at three schools — Berkman and Voigt elementary schools and C.D Fulkes middle school. The pilot program and distribution was also made possible by a $12,500 grant from the Round Rock ISD Partners in Education Foundation.

Students involved with the program are thankful for the ability to gain real-world experience.

“This project is really hands-on and I like working on computers,” Zach Martinez, Stony Point senior, said in the article on the school district’s website. “I know that if I wanted to have a career in repairs, I can go to work at places like Best Buy or Geek Squad because of my experience with this class.”