ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 8, 1997 TAG: 9703100037
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER THE ROANOKE TIMES
The students saved the county about $500 on each computer that will be used in classrooms and offices.
Scott Greenway and his classmates are repaying Roanoke County schools for part of the cost of their education.
Fourteen students in a computer technology course have saved the schools $21,500 by assembling computers that will be used in classrooms and offices.
Greenway, a junior at Cave Spring High School, and the other students have put together 43 IBM-compatible computers in a class at the Arnold R. Burton Technology Center.
The students saved the county about $500 on each computer, said David Nedrow, assistant principal at the Burton center.
The computer parts arrived at the school in boxes on a trailer truck a few weeks ago. The county used a bidding process to purchase the parts at a cost of $68,000.
The students assembled and tested the computers before turning them over to Superintendent Deanna Gordon and School Board member Marion Roark on Friday.
"Not only have the students saved the county money, but they have gained skills as computer technicians," Nedrow said.
The students spend half of their school day at the technology center and the rest at their home school.
Greenway, 16, said he put together six computers and helped his classmates on others.
"We did it from the ground up," he said. "Our teacher [Phil Sims] taught us how to do it. When we started the course, the first thing we did was to take apart a computer and see how it was made."
Greenway hopes to get a job in the computer field when he gets out of school. He and a friend, Shannon Breeding, have established a business to assemble and repair computers.
"We've got a business license, and we're hoping to make some money," he said.
Jason Stump, a Cave Spring High senior who helped assemble the computers for the schools, said the installation of the software is the most difficult part.
"Anyone can build the hardware, but you can run into so many little things in the software."
Stump, who plans to study electrical engineering at Virginia Tech, said he hopes to get a part-time job as a computer technician to help pay his college expenses.
Nedrow said the students will have no trouble finding jobs when they get out of school. Some are already working part-time for computer companies in the Roanoke Valley, he said.
"I know businesses will grab these students when they graduate," said Roark, who is president of her own computer business.
The students hope to assemble more computers.
"We want this to be an ongoing project," Nedrow said. "We can save money while the students are learning."
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: JANEL RHODA THE ROANOKE TIMES. Above, Scott Greenwayby CNB(right) and Shannon Breeding repair a video cable for one of the
computers by soldering wires together. Left, Computer Technology
teacher Phil Sims watches Tim Wellons (left) and David Nixon install
Windows 95 software into one of the 43 computers the class put
together for county schools. The Arnold R. Burton Technology Center
students will save the county money with this program. color.