Located in south central Mississippi approximately 11 miles from Hattiesburg, the Purvis schools are part of the larger Lamar County School District which has an enrollment of 6736 students. Three schools, Purvis Elementary, Purvis Middle, and Purvis High, are all located on School Street in Purvis, Mississippi, a small town of approximately 2,000 residents. Purvis Middle School with a faculty of 37 teachers educates approximately 400 students in grades 5 through 8 in academics as well as band, art, drama, and sports. Designated a school-wide Title I program, Purvis Middle School has a free and reduced lunch rating of 50%. Purvis Middle School is proud to announce that a school rating of a level 5, Superior Performing, was earned this year after many hours of instructional planning and implementation.

Selection Process

Student Tech Team candidates were selected through teacher recommendations. These recommendations were based upon student's academic records, behavior records, and interests in computers. Candidates must have maintained an A-B average during the previous school year, not been in detention more than three times in the previous school year, and not been suspended during the previous school year. If chosen for the Student Tech Team, members will be expected to maintain the same levels of academic achievement and behavior during the upcoming school year.

The last phase of the Student Tech Team application process was the completion of a written essay. Each interested candidate completed a 100 word essay on the topic, "Why do you want to be a Student Tech Team member?" The essays were scored and Student Tech Team members chosen.

Responsibilities

The Student Tech Team at Purvis Middle School met on a weekly basis. During their meetings they worked with the Technology Facilitator to create PowerPoint presentations for the teachers and update the teacher's schoolnotes.com Web pages. The Tech Team was also asked to assist with tasks such as restructuring the school's network closet and CAT-5 cables. The Student Tech Team put their technology skills to work by diagnosing and repairing classroom computer problems such as failed CD-ROM drives and computer power supplies as well as updating and maintaining the operating systems and software.