SAN FERNANDO : Obsolete Computers Boon to High School

For students at San Fernando High School, computers that are obsolete to local businesses can be what helps prepare them for the future, said Barbara Garry, assistant principal.

“Our kids are mostly from homes where a computer would be a dream come true,” said Garry, an administrator in a school of 3,200 students but with no more than 80 computers.

Garry would like to see computers in each of the school’s 150 classrooms and a bank of 10 computers in the school library. Because of a foundation based in La Jolla, the school may have a chance to see that happen.

The Detwiler Foundation, which would like to make every student computer literate by the end of the decade, is offering to match every computer donation that San Fernando High School obtains with a computer it has collected from big businesses.

But the donations must be made by Nov. 23, Garry said.

The school also may obtain computer software through the program. Donations of computer equipment must come from companies with less than 200 employees, Garry said.

Companies can donate software, printers and other computer accessories. The school is looking for workable IBM compatible computers.

“It’s really important that all our kids, especially our college-bound kids, know how to use a computer,” Garry said.

To make a donation, call Garry at (818) 365-1121.