BANDON - Having a computer glitch at school? Tech Team to the rescue!

The Bandon High School Tech Team isn't comprised of computer experts with years of college training. Nope, it's the school's own students who handle computer repair and maintenance issues as part of their last-period class. Teacher Bob Frazier started the project six years ago, handpicking techs from a pool of students who have completed the basic training and shown an interest in the field.

The team maintains more than 150 computers at the high school.

Sophomore Calvin Halpin considers the Tech Team experience to be fun and challenging.

"We learn a lot," he said. "It's more hands-on than any other class I'm in. That's when I learn best."

The main district-wide server - a computer with vast amounts of storage - falls under Frazier's sphere of responsibility. He has one period each day to deal with computer issues, as does teacher Chuck McLauchlin at Harbor Lights Middle School. Most of the other computer issues at the high school fall to the tech team.

"Everyone gets a turn (to speak) and then the kids are deployed throughout the building as needed to take care of (computer-related) issues that come up through the day," Frazier explained.

Senior Erik Helms may be the most knowledgeable computer geek in the entire school district. He's an experienced troubleshooter who has helped customers with hardware/software problems, designed Web pages and even tutored teachers.

"I eventually plan to get a degree from the Air Force Academy, and I'll always keep learning," Helms said. "As far as a career goes, I'll probably work for some big company and have many little (technology-related) businesses on the side to make a little extra money."

Frasier believes the futures of the team members are practically limitless.

"These are skills that almost everyone in their generation would benefit from having, because their daily lives are so tightly integrated with technology," Frazier said.

When Frazier was hired six years ago, the school district had considerably less computer infrastructure than it does now. And most school districts employ full-time tech specialists to keep their computer systems running.

"There's no way our modern interdependence on technology could be supported by one person," he said.

That's where the team steps in.

The students have done everything from diagnosing peripheral problems and designing Web sites to rebuilding computer systems, setting up labs and much more. And since it's all part of their Tech Team class, it saves the district money.