HAWTHORNE : Schools Seek Donations of Used Computers

With the goal of placing up to two computers in every classroom, Washington Elementary has joined another city school that participates in a computer donation program run by a San Diego-based nonprofit foundation.

The Computers for Schools program, sponsored by the Detwiler Foundation, will donate one used computer for every one donated by local businesses through Thanksgiving, said Harold Dershimer, the teacher in charge of the program at Washington Elementary.

The school has been sending flyers home with pupils and mailing press releases to publicize the program. No donations have been received so far, but the school has been in discussions with some businesses.

Eucalyptus Elementary has been in the program since May but has not received any donations.

Washington Elementary, which has nearly 700 pupils, has a computer lab with 26 Apple computers--17 of which are nearly 7 years old. Two more computers are rotated among the rooms weekly.

Dershimer said he hopes the program will increase the number of computers in the lab as well as put one or two in each classroom permanently.

Each class, some of which have as many as 34 students, spends 50 minutes a week in the lab, Dershimer said. Students could spend additional time on computers in their classrooms.

The computers would be used to teach all subjects, especially basic language skills to limited-English-speaking students, Dershimer said.

Diana Detwiler, who started the foundation with her father in 1991, said the program is designed to boost computer literacy among California children. The foundation hopes to put 1 million computers in public and private schools by 2000.

“The single greatest obstacle to improving computer education is the lack of hardware, and we’re trying to change that,” she said.

Businesses that want to donate computers can call Washington Elementary at (310) 676-3422 or the Detwiler Foundation at (800) 939-6000.