Chicago Scholar Announces DATA

Developing Access to Technology in America is an initiative to increase technology resources for high school students while providing educational resources (seminars, workshops, reading materials, etc) to teach DATA Scholars and other students how to effectively and efficiently use their new technology. DATA is a collabortion between Class of 2013 Chicago Scholar and Morehouse College student, Derrius Quarles.

"We not only want to award laptops, printers, and software, but we want to give students the knowledge needed to create a great Microsoft PowerPoint presentation, draft a spreadsheet in Excel, create a professional resume and cover letter, financial aid literacy, e-mail etiquette, etc to deserving rising seniors in high school." states Derrius. Initally, rising seniors would come from Kenwood Academy (where Derrius graduated from high school), a Chicago Public School located in Cook County, Illinois that serves over 1700 students from  different backgrounds.

In the Chicago Public School system, eighty-six percent of the students are from low-income households, many of whom cannot afford to purchase personal computers. We will start out small and grow our resources to serve more students, who will, in turn, serve their peers. As the program grows, we would like to offer these opportunities to all of the 122 high schools within the Chicago Public Schools system while providing some services to 7th and 8th grade students also. DATA is definitely a long-term program with the mission of synthesizing success of inner-city students by decreasing technology disparities within low-income communities through increased access to personal computers and technology education in this progressively technological age.

DATA's Mission

DATA is geared toward synthesizing success of inner-city students by decreasing technology disparities within low-income communities. By increasing access to personal computers and providing technology education in this progressively technological age, DATA anticipates higher academic performance, increased access to college, and more undergraduate financial-aid opportunities for high school students.

The 2011 DATA Scholarship is now available here.
Deadline for Submission is May 6, 2011.

Please turn in your completed application and materials at the Lee A. Library Media Center. 

 About The Founder

Derrius is a Chicago Scholar. See his profile here.

Derrius Lamar Quarles is a Sophomore Psychology and Sociology major at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. As a junior year in high school he was provided a grant to purchase a laptop and printer. From there, he used these resources to finish his senior year as the only student in his class to gain straight A's the first semester. Chicago Scholars was his first college access program and scholarship award. He went on to become a National Honor Society inductee, Gates Millennium Scholar, Dell Scholar, Coca-Cola Scholar, and Horatio Alger National Scholar. Though, there were many factors that contributed to his success, especially the great mentorship he received, having a personal computer and printer to do work while at home was imperative to his success.

"I believe that these types of resources should be available to more students; not just restricted the students who can afford them. Until my senior year in high school, I did not have access to a personal computer and I know first-hand the pains and difficulties a high school student must overcome to write papers, conduct research, and submit assignments. I was fortunate enough to use my own personal funds to start the Derrius Quarles Laptop Fund in the Spring of 2009. From this project came the thought that I could make this an ongoing program even after I graduated from high school. If I could find funding sources I could expand the program to other high schools in the Chicago Public School system until all of the schools were included. This is when I came up with DATA, an initiative to increase technology resources for high school students while providing educational resources (seminars, workshops, etc) to teach recipients how to effectively and efficiently use their new technology"

 

- Derrius L. Quarles on Technology