Tohatchi Mid students get new laptops

Wes Guptill, Jean Blackgoat and Sheila Morrison unbox laptop computers to be given to seventh-graders at Tohatchi Middle School Thursday afternoon in Tohatchi. Each student must follow guidlines of use and care to keep the computers. (Photo by Daniel Zollinger/Independent)

By Bill Donovan
Staff writer

GALLUP — If you want to get a student motivated with learning, give him a free lap-top computer.

That's what officials of the Gallup-McKinley County School District did last year and again last week at Tohatchi Mid-School.

All of the seventh graders last year were given computers as part of a program set up by New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

"It was very successful," said Bart Stanley, who has been principal of the school for the past three years.

This year, 92 Hewlett-Packard laptops - each worth about $1300 - were given out to seventh-graders in a ceremony in the school cafeteria. Each of the students had at least one parent or guardian in attendance to hear Stanley explain the rules about use of the computers.

The computers belong to the students with certain provisions. They get to keep the computers as long as they are attending school in Tohatchi. If they transfer to another school, such as in Gallup, they have to turn the computer in.

But for most, the lap top will remain with them as they go on to high school.

What the program does, said Stanley, is keep students interested in going to school.

"There's a trend that shows that students start losing interest in school about the 7th grade," he said. But the computers, with their games, and access to the Internet, have done wonders in the last year to get students interested again in learning.

District Superintendent Karen White said Tohatchi Mid-School is the only ones to be part of the state program.

Last year, she said, the governor's office asked her to choose one of the schools in the district to be part of the state-wide program and she chose Tohatchi Mid-School because of Stanley's background in computer technology.

This year, schools had to apply and Tohatchi Mid-School was the only school to do so.

White explained why some schools don't apply for free lap-tops.

Well, said White, it's a hassle - a lot of paperwork, teachers have to be trained in computer usage and the school has to agree to keep track of the computers.

Stanley agreed it's a lot of work but the benefits are enormous. Not only do the students get a free laptop, but also the teachers in the program get one.

The district, using its own funds, has set up Internet access points all over the school and even in the playground so students can get on the Internet whenever and wherever they like.

In fact, on the day that the computers were being passed out, there were several eighth-graders in the gym busily engaged in doing work on their laptops.

When the program was begun by Richardson last year, one of the fears was that the students would abuse the computers, losing them or dropping them so in a few months most would be in disrepair.

But that hasn't happened.

Stanley said one of the reasons the parents are brought in and required to sign an agreement is that if the computer breaks down, they are required to pay for the repairs.

So far, almost all of the computers are still functioning as well as when they were distributed to the students a year ago.

Stanley said the computers came with a warranty and all of the work on the computers was paid through this warranty which will end soon, at which time the parents will be responsible for any repair.

But, he said, for the most part the students have done a "remarkable job" in maintaining the computers.

Only six computers from last year were lost and all of these were lost on school grounds when students forgot to watch over them carefully. Two of the computers were recovered and the other students were able to get new computers this year because there was a surplus from last year.

This year's students won't be as lucky. There are just enough laptops to go around.