Students Help Bentonville School Technology Run

STAFF PHOTO BEN GOFF 
Cole Cable, 18, a Bentonville High School senior, prepares new laptops Wednesday destined for use at Washington Junior High at the Bentonville School District Technology Center. Cable is a participant in the district’s Technology Apprentice program.
STAFF PHOTO BEN GOFF Cole Cable, 18, a Bentonville High School senior, prepares new laptops Wednesday destined for use at Washington Junior High at the Bentonville School District Technology Center. Cable is a participant in the district’s Technology Apprentice program.

— Schuyler Wheelhouse, a Bentonville High School senior, was intrigued when he heard about the opportunity to intern with the School District's Technology Department.

He applied last year and eventually was selected to be a technology apprentice. He is one of six high school students the district employs, along with three college students, to deploy, maintain and update computers, iPads, printers, interactive boards and other equipment in the district.

At A Glance

21st Century Technology

The Bentonville School District significantly has increased its collection of iPads and laptops through the 21st Century Technology initiative. That program started in 2012 through a partnership between the district and the Bentonville Public Schools Foundation. Classroom teachers who apply to the program may be selected to receive enough iPads or laptop computers for their entire class. Forty-nine grants worth a total of about $1 million have been awarded to teachers. Another $500,000 of grants will be awarded this year.

Source: Staff Report

"If you're interested in technology it's a really good job because you get a lot of experience with a wide variety of stuff," said Wheelhouse, 18.

The technology apprentice program has been around for years, but has grown increasingly important to the district as its reliance on electronic devices grows. The district's inventory of computers and iPads has grown from 3,000 to 8,000 in just the past two years, said Andy Mayes, technology director.

"We could not run our technology program without (the interns)," Mayes said. "We'd have to hire half a dozen staff members to make up for the loss."

The Technology Department receives between 75 and 100 requests for service or maintenance on a typical day from the district's 19 schools and central office. The interns handle about half of those requests, Mayes said.

The high school regularly lets some students out of school mid-day to let them perform internships in the community. The Technology Department employs five seniors and one junior. They are supposed to work at least 10 hours per week, but average closer to 20. They earn $8.15 per hour and are reimbursed for miles they drive on the job.

Students must go through an interview process to be chosen a technology apprentice. If chosen, they begin work during the summer, a busy time for the Technology Department. They work full time during the summers. It's during that time the students typically figure out whether they really want to keep doing it.

"A lot of them have never seen the inside of a computer," Mayes said. "We have them disassemble a computer and then reassemble it. We pull out every component, tell them what each part does. Then they have a race to see who can reassemble theirs the fastest. And it has to actually work."

The department has recruited nine students to begin work this summer.

Kelly Kinsella and Nancy Blair are two department employees who oversee the interns. They say they enjoy watching the students grow as employees.

Teaching them how to handle a computer is one thing. Teaching them people skills is another, Kinsella said.

"They get exposure on how to communicate with adults," Kinsella said. "You watch them develop into very forward-thinking young adults."

The best student interns are invited to return as interns after they graduate. The college student interns make $13 an hour.

Ry Stith, 20, of Bentonville is one such employee. He's studying information systems at NorthWest Arkansas Community College and plans to transfer to John Brown University. He is considering a career as a system administrator.

In high school, Stith thought he was interested in being a chiropractor. He said he didn't know a single thing about computers. Then a friend recommended the technology apprentice program to him.

"I just fell in love with it," said Stith, a 2012 Bentonville High graduate.

On Wednesday, Stith visited Elm Tree Elementary to check on a laptop computer a teacher accidentally had dropped.

"Always come with a positive attitude and a good work ethic every day," Stith said, when asked what advice he has for other interns. "You can learn as much as you want or as little as you want."

Mayes said some of the interns move on from the program into lucrative technology-related jobs. Once they've completed a year in the program, they are prepared at least for an entry-level work force position in the computer field.

"It's a feeder program for us, but also for industry in the area," he said.

And there are plenty of jobs available in information technology. The Northwest Arkansas Council recently reported there are 1,066 job openings in information technology in Northwest Arkansas. In 2013 only 120 residents completed training or education through a postsecondary facility in the region in information technology, the council reported.

Gayle Brice, 17, is the only girl among this year's high school interns. The job frequently requires workers to get dirty, she said.

"You have to climb under tables," Brice said. "Sometimes you deal with spills that have gone unnoticed. I have to go into the ceiling to run cables and sometimes I'll find a dead animal."

Brice is interested in a career in computer engineering, but said being a technology apprentice has given her valuable workplace and people experience.

There are several more girls signed up to begin the program this summer. Brice said her advice to interns is not to fret too much about making mistakes.

"Don't worry if you don't get it right, because there will always be opportunities to get it right," she said.

NW News on 04/07/2014

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