In D.C., a Computer for Every Classroom

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and D.C. schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee announced today that every D.C. classroom will have a desktop computer by February under a $4 million technology initiative.

The money will pay for more than 6,300 computers, which will be installed in the city's 141 schools. The distribution will begin next week at Anacostia High School in Southeast, where officials made their announcement today.

Vivek Kundra, the city's chief technology officer, said most of the school system's technology is outdated and riddled with viruses. The money will also go toward fixing network cables, power strips and access points so that every classroom teacher and administrator will be able to have and use a computer. The initiative does not cover charter schools.

The computers, 6,356 Dell desktop PCs, were purchased for $628 apiece, officials said. Anacostia Principal Lynne Gober said the computers will be a big morale boost for her teaching staff and will allow every teacher to keep grades and other records electronically. The principal said Rhee had promised over the summer that the school would be outfitted with new technology and that today's announcement showed that the chancellor had followed through.

Kundra said the delivery of the computers was the first step toward bringing more technology to the 49,600-student school system.

"Today, we are laying the foundation," Kundra said in a statement. "We must use the Internet and other computer applications to help our students compete in the global economy and to enable our teachers to do what they do best, teach and mentor the future leaders of our country."

George Parker, president of the Washington Teachers' Union, said he supported the initiative. He said the school system has so far failed to live up to the commitment it made in its union contract to provide computers and better technology.

"This is a great day," Parker said.

Brent Moore, 16, a junior at Anacostia, said the computers would be put to good use in the school library, which he said has several computers that don't work.

"You can use them to research your school projects," Moore said.

The computers were purchased with funds from the school system's capital budget, under a financing program designated for equipment that has a useful lifespan of five to seven years, said D.C. schools spokeswoman Mafara Hobson.