Administrative Office of Courts
Supreme Court gives computers to Tchula school The Mississippi Supreme Court on Monday gave about 60 used computers to S. V. Marshall High School in Tchula. Marshall High School will use the computers to expand its computer lab, said computer engineering teacher Anthony Anderson. Students will use the computers in classes to develop skills such as keyboard use and Internet research. An after school program makes computers available to students for writing and research. Anderson said, "It's a low income area and a lot of people are not fortunate enough to have computers at their homes." The computers will also provide work experience for students who build, repair and install computers. Students of Anderson's computer engineering class will assess the old computers, fix malfunctions and upgrade the equipment. Anderson's students have built computers as part of a statewide program that has helped put computers in every Mississippi public school classroom. The computers donated by the Supreme Court, however, will remain in Marshall High School. Supreme Court Justice James W. Smith Jr., chairman of the court's computer committee, said the program to give used computers to public schools "goes hand in hand with the Governor trying to put a computer in every classroom. We are trying to do our part." Smith said, "Being a former educator, I realize the importance of every student having the opportunity to utilize computers in this modern age. I think it's going to help all of them in the long run to be able to better prepare themselves for the future." Smith said the equipment recycling program will squeeze every bit of value from equipment purchased with tax dollars. "When it's outmoded for us, we can certainly pass it on where it can be utilized by children," Smith said. Marshall High School is the third public school to receive computers which had been used by the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and chancery and circuit courts. The court system donated computers to the Hinds County School District and Starkville Public Schools in March 2002. Digital photos of Anderson and students picking up the load of computers are available. #### |
