A Huntington Beach-based nonprofit group is wiring some needy Orange County schools with high-speed access to the Internet.
Educate The Children, a 9-year-old organization working in about 20 states, has wired five local Catholic schools with speedy digital subscriber line connections and is providing free service for a year from Huntington Beach-based Flashcom Corp.
The service should help kids gain key Internet and computer skills, according to Frank Clarke, who founded and operates Educate The Children with his wife, Faye.
“By the time the kids get into high school they’ll really be swinging,” he said.
The schools are St. Polycarp in Stanton and four in Santa Ana: St. Anne, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Our Lady of the Pillar and St. Joseph. All include kindergarten through eighth grade and are part of the OC Roman Catholic diocese system.
Bishop Spurred Action
The Internet service came as a result of talking with Bishop Jaime Soto, according to Clarke.
“I asked him for help in raising money and if he knew people who would serve on our board,” Clarke said. “He laughed and said, ‘I’ve got some schools I’d like you to help.'”
At the time, Clarke was helping Santa Ana High School,where 75% of the students are considered economically disadvantaged,obtain computer hardware and software. Earlier this year, the school got $450,000 in software from Microsoft Corp.
The Internet connections for the five elementary schools cost $20,000 for wiring and $9,000 for a year of DSL service. Educate the Children is paying for all of it, though it’s getting some breaks.
“We’re looking at getting a discount on the $9,000,” Clarke said. “Federal Communications Commission rules with all the telecommunications companies mean we should get a 90% discount.”
Bargain Rates
At Santa Ana High School, he said, students and teachers get fast T1 Internet access for every classroom for $36 a month, a fraction of what the service would cost otherwise.
The Clarkes founded Educate the Children in 1991 when their business travels took them to some of the poorest areas of the South. They were appalled by what they saw and chose education as the place to get involved. They used $300,000 of Faye Clarke’s retirement money to start their group.
“We believe education leads to a better life for everyone,” Frank Clarke said. “From Head Start through high school, it helps kids have a better shot and perform better in life.”
Educate the Children launched some of its early work almost a decade ago and began its Orange County efforts six years later. The organization functions as an education version of Second Harvest, the nonprofit food bank. Instead of surplus food, Educate The Children deals in books and technology.
Educate the Children has collected surplus school books, furniture, supplies and hardware and software for schools in Santa Ana, Buena Park, Anaheim and Huntington Beach. The efforts include advanced technology such as the T1 and DSL lines, as well as such arcane items as books.
The total in 10 years: $22 million worth of materials nationwide.
International Focus
In addition to California and the South, Educate The Children has worked in the Caribbean and Ghana.
The charity has an annual budget of about $500,000,just a starting point for Clarke.
“If someone comes to you with a project and it might cost $1 million, you do the deal then you raise the money,” he said. “You solve the problem first.”
In Santa Ana, the problem is poverty. From there, the issue spreads to Orange County and beyond in the form of employees who can’t read and know little about technology.
“We are a partner in helping Santa Ana High School with their digital high school project for the state of California,” Clarke said. “As such, we are required to do a certain amount of work. And we also gave them a trailer truckload of library books.”
The Clarkes, recipients of several national service awards, now are working on the next step.
“We’re focusing on getting the 140 teachers laptops,” Clarke said.
He said anecdotal evidence from such programs in other states have shown a 250% increase in teacher productivity.
Clarke also said he thinks a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing more latitude in how private schools can get support will help with projects. And he wants to send surplus equipment south of the border, too. Helping people in such poorer areas means they will stay to combat problems they would otherwise flee, he said.
As Educate The Children continues its work, Clarke looks for largesse both large and small, whether from corporate donations or individuals.
“We’re only a part of the process,” he said. “We hope Orange County companies will help with laptops for the teachers. And everyone at our golf tournament in November has to bring something for Santa Ana High School’s computer repair room.” n
