COMPUTER LAB PROVIDES PLACE TO GO AFTER SCHOOL

KENNETT -- Shaun Hightower of Kennett is one of many students at Kennett Middle School who eagerly stays an extra hour after school each day. Instead of going home at 3 p.m. like most kids, he goes to the school's computer lab where he plays games and talks with his friends.

"I like coming here because it's fun," said Hightower, a seventh grader. "It's nice because it gives you somewhere to go."

Besides playing games he uses the computers to surf the Internet and find information on his favorite celebrities, like singer Mariah Carey.

The computer lab, which is open from 3 to 4 p.m., has gradually attracted more and more students since it opened its doors last spring. Kim Smith-Johnson, technical support specialist for the school, said there are usually more kids than computers.

"It's important to provide a safe environment for them," she said. "Sometimes when there are not parents at home, the kids might be doing whatever. If they're here, I know where they are and that they're OK."

The success of the lab is largely a result of Smith-Johnson volunteering her time to stay after school and supervise the lab, which has 30 computers. The school provides a bus that comes at 4 p.m. to take students home.

The idea for the after-school computer lab began when Smith-Johnson attended a training workshop offered by Missouri 4-H, as part of a project funded by a grant from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Kennett Middle School is one of 13 schools in south central and Southeast Missouri to participate in the project. It focuses on establishing after-school computer labs in areas with a large number of low-income families.

"We know that youth who spend large amounts of time unsupervised while their parents are working are more likely to be subject to negative peer pressure and experience isolation and loneliness," said Alison Copeland, a state 4-H extension associate at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She and Bill Pabst, a state 4-H education technology specialist, coordinated training for the program.

"Oftentimes, the kids in many of these communities don't have places to go to after school," said Pabst. "Opening the computer labs offers an informal environment where teachers and students can learn more about computers and software programs together."

After the lab opened, Smith-Johnson received a $1,000 grant from the Kennett Educational Foundation. She used the money to buy software to supplement games provided by the state 4-H office. Charla Hayes, 4-H youth education assistant in Dunklin County, provided nine CD-ROMS, where are used for the after-school computer lab and during the school day.

The Kennett Middle School after-school computer lab is open to students in grades six through eight. Seeing the popularity of the lab, Smith-Johnson hopes to recruit another adult volunteer to open a second computer lab for students to use after school.