By ANGELA LEMIRE
Staff Writer

BLACKSTONE – Helping students find relevance in their daily schoolwork to the "real" world is one of the greatest challenges educators face, admits Andrew Keough, Blackstone Millville Regional High School assistant principal and "Schools-to-Careers" coordinator.

That's one reason why he can't shower enough praise upon teachers in the technology department who, three weeks ago, launched a new half-year course that allows students to earn a nationally recognized license in building and repairing computer systems, while receiving high school credit.

After spending two weeks taking apart older systems and identifying their electronic components, the pilot class of eight students, known as the "Tech Team," this week assembled seven brand new Pentium 266 personal computers that were donated to the Millville Elementary School yesterday.

With unassembled computer kits costing as little as one-half the cost of ready-to-go systems, the district saves money while students gain valuable experience, said teacher Frederick Mitchell, noting several advantages of the program.

But the beneficiaries who are impacted most by the program are the students themselves, who may elect to take a certification test upon completion of the course to receive the "A+ certified license" that's required in the industry.

Lisa Cassino, a junior, said she opted to take the half-credit course because she hopes to work as a computer technician after graduation. "I think it's pretty easy, and there's a demand for it," she said of the field.

With a whirr of an electric screwdriver here and the turn of another tool there, freshman Dennis Sullivan's system began to take shape, with a "motherboard" and internal fan affixed to a bottom plate inside the casing.

Sullivan signed up for the course, he said, because he hopes to make money by building or repairing computers part time throughout high school and find his niche in the industry after graduation. "There's a lot of money out there (working with computers), and I'd like to get my hands on some of it," he said.

Giving students a jump on receiving their certification in computer assembly and repair is important, said Mitchell, because the licensing process is a "long one," and BMR Tech Team students would have an edge over other high school graduates.

Keough sees the new Tech Team program as a "feather in the cap" for the school.

It's one that sets a good example and challenges teachers in other disciplines to find ways to prepare students better for their post-secondary experiences -- whether it's in the military, a four-year college, junior college or the workforce.

"Personally, I think these types of initiatives are contagious," said Keough. He later added, "(The students') high school programs are more relevant if they have some direction, some end in sight."

He noted, for example, that he's seen dramatic improvements in the grades of students after they've made commitments to enter the military.

"Their grades go up in all areas because suddenly school has more meaning," he said.

Also, the program is a good example of the "Blackstone Valley School-to-Careers" initiative, a 10-town collaborative that encourages student work experience and provided money for BMR to purchase the seven new computers assembled this week, Keough said.

BMR has been involved with the collaborative for the last three years, incorporating such events as Career Day, job shadowing and internship programs. The formation of the Tech Team and certification program took many man-hours to get up and running by teachers in the technology department, said Keough.

The next major endeavor will be working with area colleges to set up programs in which high school students would receive college credits for certain approved high school classes, he said.

School officials hope to expand the half-year Tech Team course into a full year in the 1999-2000 school year, as well as tap the students' new abilities as a community resource.

"What we'd like to do is have the juniors in the program form a trouble-shooting team for our school (computer) network during their senior year," explained Keough, adding he envisions a community-wide "help desk" one day.

"The people of Blackstone and Millville could bring their computer problems to the students and have them fixed for free," he said. He added, "It would satisfy the students' community service requirement and give them valuable on-the-job experience."