When students returned to Northside Elementary School in Benson, Minnesota, last fall, most of the computers in the computer lab were gone.
Tight budgets meant the devices were needed elsewhere, and Tori Petersen, who is an instructional assistant in the lab, had to improvise with the five remaining computers, 20 iPads, and one-to-one student devices from their classrooms.
But that’s changing thanks to a donation by the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49, which represents heavy equipment operators and stationary engineers in Minnesota and North and South Dakota.
On Feb. 10, Local 49 Vice President Mark Pothen and business agent Junior Geislinger dropped off 13 computers, 30 monitors, accessories and a Surface Hub 2S smart whiteboard.
“The plan is to have these put back into our elementary computer lab,” Principal Mitchell Kent said, adding that they will enhance the learning experience of the more than 400 preschool through fifth grade students at the school.
And Petersen is excited to put the computers to good use.
“The kids, they’re coding and stuff, and it’s just easier to do on computers than it is on a tablet,” she said. “So they are ready for the computers again.”
Local 49 Vice President Mark Pothen said the union was honored to make the donation.
“As a labor union, we want to support the communities where our members live and work,” Pothen said. “When we upgraded some of our staff computers to meet the needs of their jobs, we wanted to donate the other devices to a good cause. And educating kids is a great cause.”
