Unionville-Chadds Ford students run summer tech internship, help deploy devices and smart boards

Five high‑school students who worked in a summer technology internship presented their work to the Unionville‑Chadds Ford School District board at the Sept. 8 work session, describing device deployment, inventory work and a pilot student help desk that supported the district before classes started.

"It composed of 5 high school interns," said a student presenter, Lincoln, describing the cohort. "We supported 25 plus major tech tasks." Another student, Evan, said the interns enrolled Chromebooks for incoming freshmen and sixth graders, unboxed and labeled more than 800 iPads for elementary schools and upgraded computer labs and classroom devices.

District technology staff said the internship was more than device repair. "It was about giving them opportunities for real world experience in technical support, problem solving, and more importantly, communication," technology staff member Mister Webb told the board. Webb said students also helped test and smooth deployment of a new help‑desk ticketing system (SunIQ) and assisted with a district‑wide smart‑board upgrade.

The students described concrete projects: inventory cleanup, tagging and enrolling devices, automating setup scripts for AM60 smart‑board modules and updating software in computer labs. Webb said the student interns worked across all district buildings and collaborated with technology staff to prioritize tasks before teachers returned.

Board members and administrators praised the program and discussed plans to develop the internship into a longer, leadership pathway. The district said it will expand the student help desk next summer and identify student leaders during the school year.

The board received the presentation as informational; no vote was taken.

The technology internship and device work will be incorporated into the district's college‑and‑career initiatives and reported again later this year.