Path to technology – One-of-a-kind after-school program introduces students to computers

The dismissal bell rang more than an hour ago, yet a group of about 22 students lingers to learn technology as part of a unique after-school program at C.S. Porter Middle School.

By JANE RIDER of the Missoulian

In a computer lab equipped with high-tech gear paid for by the same source as the after-school program, students become acquainted with using a digital camera, creating digital video and designing a presentation.

"We’ve learned how to make movies, take good pictures," said Jordan McIntyre, a C.S. Porter seventh-grader.

McIntyre, 12, loves computers.

"I really have a lot of fun here," he said. "I’ve made three or four new friends here since the beginning of the school year, and I’ve learned a lot of new things while having a lot of fun."

That’s just the sort of response Donn Davis likes to hear. Davis, team leader with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, was in Missoula on Monday to evaluate the Porter program. The agency funds the grant that keeps it running.

"Part of my responsibility is to monitor the grants, see how the programs work and what students are getting out of it," Davis said. "We want to see some value. It’s about learning, it’s about outcomes."

Asked his impression so far, he replied, "It’s great … fantastic. Kids are learning."

That isn’t always the case during the hours right after school lets out. Research findings that the federal government uses to justify funding after-school programs show youths are at greatest risk for substance abuse, crime, violence, sexual activities leading to unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases between the hours of 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.

That’s where programs like "Pathways to Discovery" come into play. The C.S. Porter program – a partnership between Missoula County Public Schools, the Flagship Program and the University of Montana – is the only technology-based Pathways program in the country.

"It’s a program designed to connect students to their community and their school through the use of advanced technology," said Audrey Nichols, co-facilitator of "Pathways to Discovery."

One goal is to remove the sense of alienation that many youths seem to have with respect to their community and heritage. Students become involved in community projects, develop stronger connections to their school and have the opportunity to fully participate and contribute to an increasingly technology-based society.

Kids gather from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays and meet for a two-week full-day summer session.

This year, their challenge is to create a DVD that will show incoming sixth-graders student life at C.S. Porter. They’ve gathered photos and video and conducted interviews. When finished, they’ll show the digital video at the school’s open house and at the sixth-grade orientation.

Rem Lockwood, 15, participated in Porter’s after-school program when it was in its first year and he was an eighth-grader. He learned to design Web pages, among other things. Now the Big Sky High School sophomore comes back to serve as a mentor to underclassmen.

Well versed in technology, he said he thought he could help out the younger students.

"A lot of this stuff you don’t forget," he said.

UM’s Information Technology Office applied for the federal grant in 2000 and received $1 million to operate after-school and summer programs at six sites across western Montana, including Arlee, Dillon, Hot Springs, St. Ignatius, C.S. Porter and the Missoula YMCA.

Some of that grant money bought the digital video cameras, digital cameras, tripods and two computers that students used in the computer lab Monday. The youths also built 10 more computers themselves from parts and pieces, and loaded the software.

Gordy Pace, UM’s director of applications and media development, said Information Technology Office staff provided hands-on workshops for students on how to shoot and edit video.

"It gives you something to do after school besides sitting around and watching TV," McIntyre said.

Reporter Jane Rider can be reached at 523-5298 or at [email protected]

http://missoulian.com/articles/2003/10/21/news/top/news01.txt