On January 28, representatives from the Hernando Computer Club stopped by Eastside Elementary School to drop off school supplies for children in need. That morning, the local computer club’s Hollis Taylor, Bill Fisher, and Charleen Scime delivered a trunk full of backpacks, spiral notebooks, Post-it notes, and more to the front steps of the school. After Principal Mike Lastra and company loaded the educational materials onto a platform truck, they spoke with the Sun about this partnership.
“Especially this time of year, it is always nice, because […] you do not really get many in the middle of the year. So, when you get those middle of the year ones, it is kind of a treasure that the teachers and kids are going to appreciate.”
These drops-offs take place once a year in the middle of the academic calendar with preparations starting around the school supplies tax holiday. Principal Lastra noted these are extra helpful due to most donations coming in around the start of the year.
Mr. Taylor emphasizes to members that they bring pencils, glue sticks, and liquid glue when donating as these are in short supply at schools. Though this donation program was started years prior, it has grown significantly over “the last few years thanks to Hollis and his diligence, going out and stopping at all the schools in the county,” said Fisher.
The organization named the drive after the late Ray Alexander, a member who was “instrumental” in not only giving these donated computers to schools but keeping exhaustive records of the transactions, Fisher added.
The Hernando Computer Club is not done there. They are looking to provide further aid in the form of whisper phones. According to Lastra, the local group used to provide these “almost every year” until the COVID-19 pandemic upended everyone’s plans. So, what is a whisper phone?
These educational aids are small, plastic devices that can come in an array of colors and resemble the handheld portion of a traditional house phone. These devices “allow students, especially those primary students, to be able to hear themselves read, which will help them in phonics and [pronunciations],” Dr. Lastra continued.
Coincidentally, the Eastside principal recounted a recent conversation he had with a teacher who noted that she was looking for something to let the students hear themselves reading. Serendipitously, later that same day, Hollis Taylor called asking if the school needed anything.
Taylor added that they used to only cost 76 cents each, but the inflationary surge over the last few years will cause the phones to rise in price as well. Depending on the bundle, they may still be found for around a dollar or two apiece online.
Dr. Lastra will poll his staff in the coming days to see just how many of these devices are needed. He predicted that the number requested will be at least 200 considering “all of first and all of kindergarten are going to say yes […] so they already have their hands full.”
Lastra and company are also looking forward to partnering with the HCC on getting more refurbished laptops to families. The school is in talks to receive two such devices with potentially more on the way.
