[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 56 (Thursday, April 22, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E744-E745]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  OREGON SCHOOL KIDS StRUT THEIR STUFF

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. DAVID WU

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 22, 1999

  Mr. WU. Mr. Speaker, Students Recycling Used Technology (StRUT) 
started in June 1995 with the goal of giving Oregon students the 
technical and business management skills they need for the next 
century. Over the next two years, four schools in my district: Forest 
Grove, Hillsboro, Tigard and Sherwood High School, refurbished 1,200 
computers and donated them to local schools. This gave the

[[Page E745]]

students a working knowledge of computers and also provided their 
fellow students with better access to the Internet.
  What started as a partnership between the Northwest Regional 
Education Services District and Intel was encouraged to grow by our 
governor and State legislature. The success of the program spread 
quickly, and the consortium of organizations expanded to include the 
Oregon Department of Education, Portland General Electric, and US West. 
There are now 94 StRUT programs around Oregon with 1,500 students 
involved, and over 22,000 computers have been placed by this program in 
our K-12 system.
  This Friday, I will be meeting with teachers from around Oregon who 
will be trained in this exciting new program. I look forward to hearing 
their advice on how Congress can implement these kinds of programs at 
the Federal level. In fact, StRUT is already being replicated in 
Washington, California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Congresswoman 
Johnson's home state of Texas.
  By allowing students access to these essential technical and business 
skills, and by providing their fellow students with improved access to 
the Internet, we can help prepare our children to be successful 
citizens in the information age.

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