EDUCATION
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2015
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
Learing tech from the inside
Students save
school money by
learning to repair
iPad screens
By SEAN HART
Staff Writer
Local students are learn-
ing practical applications of
technology and saving their
school money in the process.
Andrew Engelhart, school
board chairman for Hermis-
ton Junior Academy, said stu-
dents are not only using iPads
in the classroom, they are also
learning how to repair them.
It’s part of a new emphasis on
technology this year.
After members of the Sev-
enth-day Adventist Church,
with which the school is af-
¿liated, raised funds to en-
hance exposure to technol-
ogy at the school, Engelhart
said he suggested the school
purchase iPads with cracked
screens to save money and
teach the students hands-on
skills.
While a new iPad may cost
close to $500, Engelhart said,
the school procured about 30
of the tablets for $100 to $150
each. With 34 students en-
rolled in the school for kinder-
gartners through eighth-grad-
ers, the goal was to incorporate
technology into each of the
three classes, he said.
He said students in the
¿fth- through eighth-grade
class have been alternating
between iPad repair and oth-
er technology classes each
Thursday.
“It’s a real-life skill,” he
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Sixth-grader Hannah Williams connects an iPad screen to the
motherboard while repairing the tablet Thursday at Hermiston
Junior Academy.
said. “Once we have the iP-
ads (repaired), then we want
to branch out into how we can
use the iPads.”
Before
disassembling
the broken tablets, the stu-
dents check the functional-
ity of the devices to ensure
it was worth it to repair
the screen. They then heat
the glue around the edge
of the cracked screens and
pry them off before replac-
ing them with a new screen.
Some students can complete
the repairs in about an hour.
Engelhart said the experi-
ence has opened their eyes
to possible future jobs.
“The students put technol-
ogy beyond video games,” he
said. “They put technology
into career ideas.”
Seventh-grader
Nathan
Baltazar said the project was
fun and made him consider
pursuing a career in a tech-
nology ¿eld.
“I never really knew what
the inside of an iPad looked
like. I thought it was cool to
see it,” he said. “I like work-
ing with technology.”
Monica
Figueroa,
a
¿fth-grader, agreed that see-
ing the inner workings of the
device was interesting. She
said she expected to see “a
lot of wires and stuff” inside
but was surprised to see how
“empty” and clutter-free it
looked.
Sixth-grader Jeremy Blan-
co said the other topics in the
technology class were fun as
well. On Oct. 1, representa-
tives from GSH Farms ex-
plained how they use tech-
nology in agriculture and also
donated a Wi-Fi weather sta-
tion to the school for the stu-
dents to install.
“That was fun too,” Blan-
co said.
+RPHOHVVVWXGHQWVGLI¿FXOW
to tally, but numbers are up
By SEAN HART
Staff Writer
Despite a statewide in-
crease in homeless students
last school year, most local
districts enrolled fewer stu-
dents known to be without a
permanent residence.
According to a recently
released report from Oregon
Housing and Community
Services, the total number of
homeless people counted in
the state during the last week
of January fell from 13,822
in 2013 to 13,176 in 2015
— with 19 percent this year
under the age of 18. The re-
port shows 52 of these people
resided in Umatilla County,
with 24 living in homeless
shelters or transitional hous-
ing and 28 living outside.
A Department of Educa-
tion count also reÀects the
number of students living
in motels or sharing hous-
ing with others due to eco-
nomic hardship. Including
the 15,298 students in dou-
bled-up housing, 20,524 Or-
egon students, 3.6 percent,
were considered homeless
last school year — up from
18,902 the previous year and
18,165 in 2012-13.
The
McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act of
1987 requires school districts
to provide homeless students
with comparable education-
al services to those provided
to other students, including
transportation arrangements
if requested and immediate
enrollment despite the lack of
documents showing a perma-
nent address.
Bryn Browning, Hermis-
ton School District assistant
superintendent, said the dis-
trict attempts to determine
McKinney-Vento quali¿ca-
tion by making contact with
families of students who have
sudden irregular attendance,
behavioral issues or chang-
es in address. A student who
quali¿es is counted for the
remainder of the school year,
she said, and the count resets
at the beginning of the next
year. Although fewer home-
less students were recorded
last year — 33 compared to
73 the previous year and 46
in 2012-13 — Browning said
she anticipates the number to
grow this year.
“A trend we are seeing is
the length of time a student is
homeless has increased from
temporary to a carrying over
from school year to school
year,” she said. “In the past,
we’ve never really carried
over very many families, but
this year we’ve identi¿ed
17 students who are already
homeless, whereas last year
we identi¿ed four at this time
of the school year. As stu-
dents move in or move out
and counselors keep doing
their research, that number
will grow from here.”
In addition to the feder-
al requirements, Hermiston
school district works with a
Umatilla County CARE co-
ordinator, who helps connect
students and families with
available social services,
meals, clothing and medical
care. Morrow County School
District also uses a CARE
coordinator from the Inter-
Mountain Education Service
District.
Morrow County assistant
superintendent George Men-
doza said homeless students
experience a variety of dif¿-
cult situations that affect their
education.
“In schools we often see
an impact due to poor nutri-
tion, sleep deprivation and
irritability,” he said. “Also,
homeless youth encounter
health issues because they
lack attention from doctors,
wellness agencies and in
general lack resources that
can help them maintain their
health.”
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STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Although the housing and
community services point-
in-time report from January
counted no homeless people
in Morrow County, the school
district counted 42 homeless
students — 1.9 percent —
last year, including 32 in dou-
bled-up housing. The district
also recorded 42 students the
previous year and 30 in 2012-
13.
Mendoza said working
with other agencies to provide
“wraparound services” helps
support homeless students
and families in need. The
goal, he said, is “to ensure
homeless students have equal
access ... and opportunities to
meet the same challenging
academic achievement stan-
dards.”
For more information
about school district home-
less programs for Hermiston
contact Lisa Depew, 541-
667-6016; or for Morrow
County contact Mendoza,
541-422-7012.
For more information
about CARE coordinators
contact Jenni Galloway for
Umatilla County, 541-379-
3575, or Peggy Ann Doherty
for Morrow County, 541-256-
0429.
SeYenth-grader .eyla *uardado and ÀIth-grader 0onica )igueroa worN on remoYing
the monitor Irom an iPad they were repairing Thursday at the Hermiston Junior
Academy.
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Sixth-grader Jeremy %lanco places a monitor bacN in an iPad as ÀIth-grader 5oarNe
Smith holds the touch screen out oI the way as they repair an iPad on Thursday at the
Hermiston Junior Academy.
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