Philadelphia Law Firm Gift Lifts a South Philadelphia Middle School

By Mike DeNardo

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Kids at a South Philadelphia school are getting a high-tech gift.

The $10,000 grant from the law firm of White and Williams will buy Chromebook laptops for sixth, seventh, and eighth graders at the Chester A. Arthur School, at 20th and Catharine Streets.

"We want to make sure we have an educated community," said Patti Santelle, chair of the firm. "I mean, they are our future."

Ninety-five percent of the students at the Chester A. Arthur School come from poor households, according to the school district.  Principal Kim Newman says her students will use the laptops for web-based supports, online courses, and for doing science in virtual labs.

"The Chromebooks, or any sort of technology, really allows us to open up our doors, so the learning doesn't just take place inside the classroom," she said.  "We get to expand and really learn from everyone, everywhere."

Newman says her students are even more excited about the mentoring from volunteer lawyers.

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