Early Christmas Gift a Surprise for Local Students: Project: Surplus Computers Find Way to Those With Need.
By Sarah Elizabeth Villicana, The Porterville Recorder, Calif.
Dec. 14–It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas for 60 students around Tulare County who received an unexpected present during their school day.
The Tulare County Board of Supervisors, County Office of Education, Visalia Rotary Clubs and College of the Sequoias joined forces to deliver 60 computers to deserving students at elementary, middle and high schools.
At Alta Vista School, eighth-grade students Lucia Corona and Rodolfo Ventura weren’t sure why they were being called to the district office after lunch Thursday.
Principal Ruthie Gale told Lucia and Rodolfo they were receiving a surprise and led them to a room where two computers rested on a table. After school district Superintendent Bernie Hanlon and County Supervisor Mike Ennis congratulated the pair and presented each with a certificate, they remained unsure of exactly what had transpired.
Once it sank it, Lucia said it was what she was hoping for all along.
“That’s what I wanted for Christmas,” Lucia said. “Really, I was thinking it was going to be a computer.”
With Lucia translating, Rodolfo said he, too, had been wishing for a computer this Christmas.
Walking over to the district office, Rodolfo said he wasn’t anticipating a good surprise.
“I thought I was going to get in trouble,” Rodolfo said.
With their Christmas arriving early, the eighth graders said now they probably won’t ask their parents for anything at all this holiday.
“I had started wanting a computer this year,” Lucia said. “I wanted it to do homework and to play games.”
Both Rodolfo’s and Lucia’s parents work in the fields and have limited incomes. Out of the entire student body at Alta Vista, Gale said they were selected because of their ability to achieve good grades while still learning the English language.
“These students excel academically and soon they will be going on to high school where everything is on computers,” Gale said. “We feel they will benefit greatly from this gift.”
In total, the county contributed 60 computers and matching flat screens for Thursday’s giveaway. All of the computers had been due for sale as surplus equipment.
Ennis, Dist. 5, said he delivered 12 additional computers Thursday to Porterville students at Doyle, Olive Street and West Putnam elementary schools.
Allen Ishida, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, said it was important for the county to help provide computers for students because they will need to be computer literate to compete with today’s global economy in the future.
Principals and staff and schools throughout the county nominated students whom they felt would benefit the most from the donated computers. Because of the limited supply, not all requests could be granted.
The COS computer club volunteered to test the computers, erase sensitive files and install Windows XP on each of the Pentium III and Pentium 4 computers.
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