SJHS Gets a New Computer Lab

From its opening in 1957, all the way to 2012, Springville Junior High has had no more than three working computer labs at a time.  This January, that all changed as a fourth lab was added to the three already existing labs at SJHS.  The lab is now set up in room 21, and will travel to the new school in 2014.  According to Mrs. Bass, an English teacher at SJHS, the purchase of this lab will help free up labs for class periods that classes may have had trouble getting to use a lab before.

There are multiple reasons why a decision was made to purchase a brand new lab.  “The simple reason is because we needed it,” said Mr. Van Ausdal, principal at SJHS.  According to Mr. Van Ausdal, money had to be saved up for about a year and a half to buy all of the hardware for the lab, which cost around $20,000.  However, it will end up costing even more, as payments are also needed for software licenses, computer installation, running power to the lab, and so on.  “The new lab will allow more teachers to utilize technology,” said Mrs. Maughan, an English teacher at SJHS.  According to Mr. Dahl, a science teacher at SJHS, science classes take their tests on the computers, and another computer lab will make it much easier to schedule a computer lab.

It is a common question as to who decides when the school will get something like a new computer lab.  Springville Junior High has a group of parents and school personnel that get together to make decisions for the school.  This group is called the School Community Council, or the SCC, and they are in charge of finding the best ways to spend money for the school.  “The function of the SCC is to support student learning, and to manage Land Trust funds to maximize student learning,” said Mr. Van Ausdal.  The SCC spent a lot of time discussing the new computer lab, and its potential benefits.  In the end, it was decided that SJHS was in need of another lab.

Along with the new lab at SJHS comes a responsibility that SJHS students now have: taking care of the lab.  “Student misuse is probably the biggest issue we have where computer labs are concerned,” said Mr. Van Ausdal.  According to Mr. Perkins, the computer specialist at SJHS, the two main problems are students downloading games, and students not turning off the computers.  The average computer lab lasts at least five years, and how the computers are treated can greatly affect that number.  All in all, almost everybody at Springville Junior High seems very positive about the new lab.  “It will help me with my schoolwork,” said Roxie Chambers, a ninth grader at SJHS, “Good computers get work done faster.”