Rogers Computer Lab Step Toward Future

Thu., Sept. 24, 1998

By Kevin Blocker kevinb@spokesman.com

Rogers High School looks like most schools built in 1933.

But go to the third-floor computer lab and you’ve suddenly stepped into the 21st century.

There is a low-level hum that emanates from Room 301. It’s accompanied by artificial light typically found in most modern office buildings today.

Where four old classrooms used to be, 16 computer stations are now spread throughout. In here, most students get a glance at their future.

“Every module is different and speaks to a different discipline,” said technology teacher Bob Brown.

The point of the lab is to expose students to possible careers.

Rogers and Ferris High School are the first schools in District 81 to be outfitted with technology labs.

Last year, the district’s school board approved curriculum for the labs that give students hands-on experience in a variety of job fields.

Money for the two $125,000 labs was earmarked in last year’s budget, but final curriculum approval was necessary before the labs could be installed.

The labs will eventually be installed in all District 81 high schools. Rogers and Ferris were the first chosen because they have the space.

“This has been well received so far,” Brown said. “We’ve got 38 to 43 students in each class with five different periods a day. We’ve even got a waiting list of students to get in.”

Brown said District 81 officials have consulted with members of the local business community and higher education officials to help determine what the technology curriculum should include for students.

“This speaks to the needs of the community and industry,” Brown said. “This is run by the community it represents.”

G-Prep seniors named semi-finalists

Gonzaga Prep seniors Parker Barrile and Jon Jurich were named 1999 National Merit Scholarship Program Semi-Finalists.

Barrille and Jurich - who live on the North Side - along with two other seniors at Prep, are among 15,500 students named from more than 1.2 million students in 20,000 U.S. high schools who took the 1997 preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

The highest scoring students in each state are designated semifinalists. The students represent less than 1 percent of each state’s high school graduating class.

Semi-finalists have an opportunity to continue in the competition for approximately 7,600 merit scholarship awards to be offered in the spring.

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