By Jason Thompson

photo by steed media services

The future has just gotten a little brighter for students at Atlanta's Price Middle School thanks to the efforts of their principal, Sterling Christy, and the nonprofit organization Computers for Youth. Two hundred forty families received refurbished computers that were donated by several corporations to enhance the learning opportunities for Atlanta's inner-city youth.

“We were looking for an opportunity to increase technology access in learning and instruction ... so this was a perfect marriage. The school has been able to invest over $10,000 in Internet-based software in the area of mathematics, social studies, language arts, reading and science, so this further supports the initiative whereby we are now enabling kids to have this academic support seven days a week [and] 24 hours a day, using technology that helps kids grow academically...,” explains Christy.

As children's success is increasingly more dependent on the resources available to them, Christy and Computers for Youth hope that the programs currently in place will serve as a vehicle to keep students focused on learning both inside and outside the classroom. “Often the kids would start their academic work here at school and they [couldn't] finish what they start[ed] within the confines of a four-period class [schedule]. This partnership with Computers for Youth cuts down significantly on the amount of time that it takes to complete these projects. It also gives kids an opportunity to concentrate on a deeper level than just finding out what their topic is about when they are pressed for time,” says Christy.