The Miami HeraldBY JENNA FARMER
The Alliance for Digital Equality donated 200 computers to Miami Northwestern High , Maya Angelou Elementary and families belonging to the Overtown Youth Center.
As school systems place more emphasis on digital education, it can be hard for low-income areas to keep up with the financial burden this new education brings.
That's why the Alliance for Digital Equality sought out Miami Northwestern Senior High School in Liberty City, Maya Angelou Elementary School in Allapattah and the Overtown Youth Center in Overtown as locations to donate 200 refurbished Hewlett-Packard desktop computers.
The alliance is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that strives to ensure equal access to technology in underserved communities, said Cynthia Miller, spokeswoman for the organization.
Representatives from the alliance attended the event, including Chairman Julius Hollis, Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Caravalho, former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and Bill Diggs, Alonzo Mourning Charities board chairman.
While each school received 50 computers for their computer labs, the Overtown Youth Center received 100 computers that were given to families for private use after school.
Alonzo Mourning Charities founded and oversees the center.
``When you learn something at one location with a computer, you can't really take it home and do the same thing. That's the key, an education continuum,'' Diggs said.
In order for families to qualify for the computers, each child must meet several criteria, including at least 85 percent attendence in school, good grades and a clean disciplinary record. In addition to excelling in the classroom, the student must participate in extracurricular activities outside of school as well, according to Carla Penn, executive director of the Overtown Youth Center.
``It was so great and so unexpected to find out we were getting a computer,'' said Melissa Ross, mother of 8-year-old Clifton.
The fact that Clifton had to do better in school and outside of school to get the computer made it even better, she said.
Not only do these computers keep the students connected, they also serve as a foundation to expand digital technology, according to Franklin, who now teaches at Spelman College.
``We wanted to add to the legacy of Mr. Mourning's foundation and make sure that your children have a knowledge base'' in digital technology, Hollis said.
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