U.S. General Services Administration
Region 10 GSA Office Donates 125 Laptops to Students and Teachers in Need
AUBURN, WA -- The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has donated more than $187,000 worth of computer equipment to students and teachers in the Winlock and Sultan School Districts.
The Northwest/Arctic Region made the donation of the refurbished computers through the Computers for Learning program, which enables schools and educational nonprofit organizations to obtain excess computer equipment from federal agencies.
The donation comes at a time when school district resources are stretched with students learning from home. The Sultan School District, north of Seattle, and the Winlock School district in southwestern Washington, made the request to GSA for help.
Winlock School District Superintendent Garry Cameron said the district doesn’t have enough computers for students and some of the staff are having to use their personal computers since their desktop computers are at school.
"We’re excited to get these laptops for our students and teachers," Cameron said. "This will really help us as we try and educate in this new environment of learning and teaching from home."
Cameron said the district, located south of Chehalis in rural farming country, has a 91% poverty rate among its student population. Limited school district resources didn’t allow for the purchase of additional computers when the school year was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote learning has now become the way districts are responding to continued education.
"With the Covid-19 crisis, the district is in need of all the support we can find," Cameron said. "We were excited GSA was there to help."
For the Sultan School District, North of Seattle, the donation of laptops means its high school students can continue learning from home using equipment powerful enough to meet the needs of some of their more rigorous classes.
"This donation really saved our students," said David Moon II, Technology Director for the Sultan School District. "We recently passed a small technology levy that will allow us to put new technology in the hands of kids. Until then, we need to rely on surplus technology for our students and staff."
The excess equipment from GSA was refurbished by the Information Technology (IT) teams in Auburn. The laptops were then cleaned and readied for the district. IT officials and Computers for Learning Region 10 program director Greg Klein passed along the computers today, while observing strict social distancing recommendations.
"GSA is very happy to be able to pass along this equipment to school districts in this time of need," said Roy Atwood, Regional Administrator for the Northwest/Arctic Region. "These computers will help students advance their educational opportunities and that is so important right now."
In total, 75 laptops were handed off to the Winlock School District worth an estimated $112,500 and another 50 laptops valued at $75,000 were given to the Sultan School District. The computers became available as government agencies upgraded their equipment throughout the region.
Over the last five years, the Northwest/Arctic Region of GSA has donated more than $450,000 worth of computer equipment to regional schools.
About GSA: The mission of the U.S. General Services Administration is to deliver value and savings in real estate, acquisition, technology, and other mission-support services across the government. To learn more about GSA visit gsa.gov and join the conversation on social media at @USGSA.
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