Miami, FL –Ten students from Toussaint Louverture Elementary School in Miami received a big surprise when they graduated from PBS&J’s 2008 kidsclass™ (Computer Lab Adventure for Super Students) program yesterday—their own brand-new HP® personal computer, along with basic operating system software and Microsoft® XP Professional, Microsoft® Office Student 2007, and Microsoft® Student with Encarta Premium software.
Attendees at the ceremony, which will took place at the elementary school, included Dr. Solomon Stinson, Chair of Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS). The Toussaint Louverture Elementary kidsclass™ program is a part of PBS&J’s commitment to M-DCPS to provide technology training to the school system.
“kidsclass™ is one of PBS&J’s most significant programs,” stated Humberto Alonso Jr., PBS&J vice president and district director. “It allows PBS&J employees the opportunity to give back to the community on a personal level and experience the impact that they can make in the lives of the students. At the same time, the company is able to provide an educational experience that the students might not otherwise have. kidsclass™ is one of PBS&J's many efforts to help students develop an interest in engineering, math, and science and to encourage them to consider careers in these fields.”
During the recent kidsclass™, students learned to use Encarta, a digital multimedia encyclopedia published by Microsoft. They also used Word to write a report, Excel to create charts, and PowerPoint to create slides.
“The students have gained invaluable knowledge about computers. They now understand how computers work from the inside out,” stated Liliane Delbor, principal of Toussaint Louverture Elementary. “They learned how to use PowerPoint and Excel, as well as other programs. These are skills they will take with them for years to come.”
Each of the ten students was chosen based on aptitude, desire to learn, and lack of access to a computer at home. The kidsclass™ program involves training with a PBS&J instructor and one-on-one assistance from an employee mentor. The training sessions, which are held once a week for six weeks at PBS&J, include lessons for new computer users and basic Microsoft applications. At the completion of the course, PBS&J donates a brand new computer to each child.
kidsclass™ is part of the “PBS&J in the Community” nationwide initiative, which was first offered by the firm’s Orlando office in 2001. It has since expanded throughout Florida and into Texas, Georgia, and North Carolina.