(Daily Pennsylvanian) (U-WIRE) PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia's public school system may be lacking in resources, but some University of Pennsylvania engineering students are doing their part to help turn things around.
Puente, a nonprofit organization at Penn made up of engineering students, recently merged with CommuniTech, another engineering student group, to embark on a project to install new computer labs at schools in the West Philadelphia community.
In the past, Puente -- founded in 1999 -- had focused its efforts on improving technology in many Third World countries. The group previously has undertaken projects in India and Ecuador.
Like many other nonprofit organizations, Puente decided to shift its focus to the local economy after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In order to make more of an impact, the organization joined forces with another Penn community service group.
CommuniTech was founded by the engineering school in 1999 and is completely student-run. The group provides technical services to nonprofit organizations in the Philadelphia area.
Recently, CommuniTech/Puente was the beneficiary of 200 computers, donated to the organization by a local health care company. With these computers, they have embarked on a project to install computer labs at local Philadelphia schools and help students and teachers learn how to operate them.
"Many schools may have the computers, but they do not have the knowledge to use them," CommuniTech/Puente Vice President Robert Lavan said. "We have started computer clubs and a curriculum for teachers in order to better instruct students on the uses of this technology."
One such local West Philadelphia school is John P. Turner Middle School, located at 59th Street and Baltimore Avenue. In addition to donating and installing the actual hardware, CommuniTech/Puente also provided the school with Internet access and Microsoft Office applications.
Many organizations have made efforts to help the ailing Philadelphia school district, but CommuniTech/Puente President Ross Friedman said he finds this approach has an even larger impact.
"Rather than working one-on-one with students, providing and installing this technology allows us as engineering students to better use our knowledge and expertise to improve these schools," Friedman said.
By concentrating their efforts on a more local setting, the engineering students have been able to see first-hand the results of their hard work in the excitement of both teachers and students.
"The kids and I were on the Net this morning and they are really excited," said Kathy Lee, a teacher at Turner Middle School. "They are actually reading about colonial Philadelphia because it is on the computer."
The organization plans to expand this new local focus to include more Philadelphia schools. By working with the Center for Community Partnership, it has identified schools most in need of assistance.
In January the organization plans to build computer labs of 15 computers each in the Ethiopian Community Association and two churches around the Penn campus. In addition, CommuniTech/Puente hopes to install at least one computer lab per month in schools, churches and other local organizations that normally would not have this type of computer expertise.
While the group realizes the city's schools still face many problems, it hopes helping to bridge the digital divide will be a major step in the right direction.
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