Partners in Technology Pod Day: Saturday, October 10
Austin Partners in Education would like to invite technology professionals throughout the city of Austin to participate in our “Pod Day”. This event joins the community with the classroom in a joint effort to kick-start the Crockett High School Refurbishment Lab.
The Lab, taught by Betsy O’Neill and supported by the Intel Corporation, teaches high school students the process and value of refurbishing computers for re-use, and gives them the opportunity to rebuild computers for use throughout the District.
For use in this class, Austin Partners has accumulated hundreds of computer systems over the past few years, enough to fill up two large storage pods. Now that this course is ready to start in full swing at its first AISD high school, we are asking for your help in giving the students a head start on their project.
On Saturday, October 10th, Austin Partners is coordinating “Pod Day”, in which students from Crockett High School and technology professionals from around Austin work together to evaluate the status of the hardware on which the students will be working throughout the year.
Starting at 9 a.m., students will begin emptying the contents of the pods and transporting them to stations, where teams of professionals and students will evaluate the quality of each system, scavenge and scrap un-refurbishable ones, and diagnose the repair needs of refurbishable or complete systems. As the teams evaluate the systems, the parts and systems will be sorted for further attention by students in the Lab. At the end of the day, scrap parts will be transported for recycling.
We hope that you will join us for what can be considered the informal inauguration of the Crockett High School Refurbishment Lab.
In order to participate, register at Pod Day - Crockett High School.
To learn more, please contact Edward or Robbie at the numbers below.
We hope to see you then!
Edward Furstenau
Technology Specialist
512-637-0986
Robbie Ely
512-637-0978
Disability Mentoring Day: Wednesday, October 21 
According to the National Organization on Disability the unemployment rate for working-age individuals with disabilities is estimated at 69%. The DMD organizers seek to narrow this gap by matching students with disabilities with mentors to explore career opportunities and the requirements associated with their chosen career field.
Disability Mentoring Day activities begin at the mentor work sites. Students spend the morning job-shadowing career-mentors at businesses and organizations throughout the city. Participating employers have included the City of Austin, YMCA, Zocalo Design, Doubletree Hotel, Daily Texan, Chili’s, Target, VSA Arts of Texas, Forklift Danceworks, and many other employers in the private and nonprofit sectors.
In the afternoon, participants will attend an afternoon lunch reception at Goodwill Industries of Central Texas Conference Center (1015 Norwood Park Blvd). This is a chance to meet other participants and hear from city officials, professionals and students with disabilities about their experiences. It is a chance to reflect on the different experiences of the day with your mentee and any other DMD participants. The reception will also feature representatives from colleges and supported employment organizations in the community.
UPDATE: MENTORS ARE NEEDED FOR THE FOLLOWING CAREERS!
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graphic design
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film making or film field
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math tutor
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professor or researcher in biology, biochemistry or genetics
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car mechanic
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car body shop
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x-ray technician
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nutritionist or dietician
To get involved with DMD, please contact Denise Sonleitner at sonleitner@aol.com.
