Schools are benefiting by having students play a larger role in the IT department. It’s great for the kids too.

In most households, children are considered the resident IT expert by the adults. Need help programming that LED light display? Ask the 12-year-old. Did the phone update mess up all your apps? The 15-year-old can straighten that out for you. Need help setting up the the WiFi router? Just wait until the 7th-grader gets home from school.

Understanding how technology works seems to come easy to almost every person under the age of 21. Now, some schools are using tech clubs and classes to give students with these skills and interests the opportunity both to feed their thirst for knowledge and to gain valuable real-world experience assisting educators and others in the community in a tech support role.

This approach not only helps cash-strapped school districts grapple with increasing demands on their IT departments, but meets a need for career and technical educational (CTE) opportunities, with some students even able to earn accreditation in the process.

Shawna De La Rosa