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Struggling Students Can Learn By Using Discarded Computers

07/07/2007 - There still can be flickering signs of life in those clunky hard drives and beat-up keyboards destined for the landfill. Now, after refurbishing, about 250 discarded computers will be going to students at Hairston Middle School for use at home.

They will be a welcome learning tool too often out of the reach of children from low-income families. Nationwide, 80 percent of children have access to home computers. Only one in four Hairston eighth-graders does.

A correlation exists between home computer availability and good grades. Hairston's end-of-grade test scores tend to bear that out. The results were 20 percent below the average for other Guilford County middle schools.

But narrowing the digital divide also can benefit the rest of the family. Internet accessibility opens new vistas. Job opportunities and in-home instruction are just a click away.

The entire community benefits as well. Recycling keeps thousands of pounds of used computers and related gadgets out of landfills. Donors also are eligible for tax credits.

The nonprofit HandyCapable Network Inc. is coordinating the Hairston initiative. Funding comes from the Cemala Foundation and the Lincoln Financial Foundation.

Similar programs that funnel reconditioned computers to needy recipients have been successful. One involves Dell and Goodwill Industries. Another in the Triangle has found new homes for more than 13,000 discarded units.

Of course, donors should take care to sanitize hard drives that may seem innocuous enough but could contain inappropriate personal or business-related data.

But the cause, and the potential effects, are more than commendable. A computer in the home can connect economically disadvantaged students to more promising futures.