Spring Branch ISD Featured News

 

CIS partners with Comp-U-Dopt to issue 1,000 home computers to SBISD students. See video.

On Tuesday, Ashley Garza, a Sherwood Elementary School parent, joined 200 other families in a drive-thru line outside Meadow Wood Elementary to help put donated and refreshed computers directly into their homes and apartments.

Garza, a mother of four young children, including twins, could not say enough good things about the box placed in her vehicle by a masked volunteer due to COVID-19 social distancing rules.

“I think it’s a blessing because my kids don’t have any education electronics at our house, and getting an education is really important to them, and to me,” she said.

At a separate Friday drive-thru distribution, Housman Elementary School PTA President Diane Morales was equally excited about getting a computer for her girls. Helping her daughters, who range from 5 to 13 years old, cope with the major disruption caused by the pandemic has been tough at times.

“Our lives changed from one day to the next. I’ve been doing my best to help them using the district’s [weekly learning] packets and my phone, but this will be very helpful. I am so grateful for this computer and all the support provided,” Mrs. Morales said.

In SBISD this week, more than 1,000 families drove up to a local school parking lot empty and drove out with a computer-in-a-box package including a monitor, keyboard, hand-held mouse, and information on free or low-cost internet connection options.

The computer distribution here is part of a larger partnership effort by Communities in Schools (CIS) and Comp-U-Dopt Houston to coordinate sign ups, screenings and issuance of 5,000 computers to families in need across the Houston region.

The thousands of computers being distributed this month were made possible by contributions from HP through the Global Business Coalition for Education and a $1 million gift by Eric and Shana Bass, who are committed to work involved in closing the digital divide.

CIS provides comprehensive services for students and families in SBISD elementary schools, helping in a variety of ways to pull down barriers to students’ success in school and life. Since March, families report the lack of technology as one of their biggest challenges to fully engaging in home-based education plus accessing much-needed resources.

The need – across the nation, Houston and in SBISD – is huge. According to the Pew Research Institute, 46 percent of low-income families lack access to a computer at home. Census data suggests that up to 13 million families nationwide face the same challenge. The pandemic has only highlighted this gap.

Locally, Compu-U-Dopt reports that more than 80 percent of families receiving computers earn less than $35,000 annually. In just 48 hours, more than 25,000 area families registered for the group’s lottery. If selected, families get a RSVP date, time and location to pick up their computer.

Social distancing and safety protocols were maintained at all school distribution sites.

Amy Oxener, a CIS student support manager at Meadow Wood, helped box up computers for the day’s drive-thru event. She joined CIS managers like her across SBISD to identify, contact and inform families of the distribution, and how the screening and qualifying process worked.

A line of cars formed in the school parking lot an hour before the 10 a.m. Tuesday distribution.

“SBISD has a lot of elementary schools where students do not have computers at home,” she said. “In this day and age, not having a computer can set you back. Having access to a computer is huge for our students and families. It’s a big need.”

Colin Dempsey, executive director of Comp-U-Dopt’s Houston-Galveston region, greeted families from a social distance while keeping traffic moving at Meadow Wood.

The pandemic has put the digital divide into sharp focus, he said. The divide includes three separate but related issues: hardware devices, internet connectivity, and digital literacy skills.

“A computer in the home is not a luxury any more. It is an essential. At the same time, we know that families today are making decisions about paying for food or rent, not computer purchases. We find across Houston that one in four families live at or below the poverty line; they do not have personal computers at home generally.”

He is encouraged by big donations from couples like Eric and Shana Bass. The Houston Rockets’ Russell Westbrook has supported this group locally, winning publicity for the 13-year-old group from celebrity figures like local Mayor Sylvester Turner and late-night TV comedian Jimmy Kimmel.

Since its founding in 2007, the nonprofit Comp-U-Dopt has delivered more than 17,000 computers and 100,000 hours of technology education to more than 20,000 youth. In March and early April alone, the group gave out 1,300 computers to families through its Computer Drive-Thru events.

CIS Houston serves more than 125,000 students in SBISD, as well as Houston, Alief, Aldine and Fort Bend ISDs. It also serves Southwest Schools and Lone Star Colleges.

 

To read more about Comp-U-Dopt:

www.compudopt.org

 

To read more about CIS Houston:

www.cishouston.org