Xerox Corporation, the world's leading document management technology and services enterprise and a $17 billion dollar company, has met and partnered with Project "Genesis" students at Mount Vernon High School to demonstrate solutions in the potential digitizing of thousands of archived School District  records.
     The Project “Genesis” program has excited some school officials, since digitizing the thousands of records found in the high school's Archives and Records Room can save taxpayers a substantial amount of money.
     Also, the interest and support shown by Xerox Corporation in working with the Project “Genesis” student workers and management team over the last eleven months has been phenomenal, according to Project “Genesis” Project Director & Founder, Art Crawford.  
     Digital imaging, also referred to as scanning, is a process where by a paper-based document is scanned by a computer and converted from its original human readable format into a digital, computer-readable format. The resulting image can be stored on a variety of media, such as computer disks, CD-ROMs, magnetic tape, and computer servers. You can think of it as a photocopy that can be viewed on your computer.  
     The activities associated with support by Xerox has included numerous visits to the district by Xerox executive personnel; a number of student worker and management team visits to Xerox offices and production facilities; and the total support of Xerox - including classes taught to student workers and support at student run business, planning and operations review meetings.
     Project "Genesis" is the School District 's award winning student managed and operated records management and administrative support services program. The program was founded, developed and launched in 1999 by Art Crawford, records management officer with the Mount Vernon School District .  
     The project was inaugurated as a response to a critical situation at the time - the deplorable condition of the School District 's records platform, which was labor intensive and required a significant amount of person-power to move boxes. The records were stored in the Records and Archives room and other locations throughout the School District .  
     At the time, the decision was made to enlist student labor, and create a work environment associated with a 21st century business model. In the created model (corporation), the students are given the opportunity to run the entire operation, and gain from the training and learning experience associated with being held totally responsible and accountable for the results of the operation. Additionally, in the model, the student workers are taught and are involved in employing the skill sets associated with being a successful operative in the 21st century business and professional world.  
     Over time, the project has been incredibly successful in impacting the lives, capabilities, academic ability, and career potentials of the three hundred plus student workers and managers who have worked in the operation since its creation.  
     Unfortunately, the extremely gifted and dedicated student members of Project "Genesis" in some instances, do not have the proper tools to perform their duties at the high school. They are lacking computers and other essential office equipment that will allow them to be more efficient.  
     Project "Genesis" works in conjunction with the City of Mount Vernon Youth Services Bureau, which supplies manpower and pays the salaries of the workers it assigns to the project to make the program possible. This partnership reduces the expense to the district, thereby having the district only responsible for paying the salaries of the student management cadre.  Many of the student workers over the years started under the auspices of the Youth Services assignment, and were promoted into management as direct hires of the project.
     Throughout the year and during the summer months, Project "Genesis" members can be found working within the School District performing various clerical and administrative support functions. The direct hire (management team) students are compensated for their efforts thanks to the various grants that are generated to support the program through the efforts of Mr. Crawford.
     Project "Genesis" is considered the number one worksite within the City of Mount Vernon by the Youth Services Bureau due to the quality of the program, the learning experience and the quality of service the students provide.
     During the summer of 2007 work period, the students worked a total of 25 hours per week, Monday thru Friday, and could be found at School District worksites all across Mount Vernon , including the Education Center, various school locations, and the Records and Archives Room at MVHS.
     The students were kept constructively busy over the summer with the following activities and achievements:

• Three business oriented classes taught by Xerox Corporation personnel
• Computer Competency and Information Technology Classes
• Visit to the Xerox Tarrytown office for business and marketing related overviews and presentations
• A trip to the NY Aquarium and a visit to the estate of David C. Smith, (a long term “Genesis” supporter), as educational and “sun & fun” excursions
• The project met all of its business plan objectives in the Records and Archives Room and throughout the district worksites
• Attended the program's closing ceremony on August 18. Awards were given to MVP student workers in each discipline

     In the fall of 2007, the students once again engaged in successful worksite activities throughout the City of Mount Vernon .
     Between September 2007 and April 2008, Xerox Corporation continued to demonstrate their commitment to Project "Genesis" by visiting the Mount Vernon School District on 15 different occasions. During their many visits to Mount Vernon , Xerox officials managed to meet with the Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Welton Sawyer, and Deputy  Superintendent, Maureen Gonzalez. During their meeting with the Superintendent, Xerox officials emphasized that they were ready to assist the students in achieving 21st century Records Management status and objectives.
     Soon after, Xerox authorized the placement of a Xerox WorkCentre 5665 copier, duplicator, scanning and workstation device for the use of the "Genesis" Records and Archives organization. The state-of-the-art machine was to be used by the student workers assigned to the Records Room for their development of the 21st century objectives as agreed to in the partnership agreement between Project "Genesis" and Xerox. To be more specific, the machine was to be installed as a demonstration trial machine by Xerox, with all of the associated support tools so that the student workers would be able to explore first-hand, the digital and 21st century technological aspects of Records Management. The machine was to be installed for a period of 30 to 45 days during the most recent phase of the “Genesis” operation that concluded in mid April.
     Incredibly, due to an internal misunderstanding by the School District 's Technology  Department, the resolution authorizing the placement of the machine in the Records Room was pulled at the last minute prior to the February 6, 2008 Board of Education meeting.
     The actions of the School District's Technology Department has impacted Project "Genesis" in a very negative way, affecting the morale of the Student Management Team and all the students that are part of the program.
     "I am at a loss as to why the School District 's Technology Department disallowed the placement of the Xerox machine in our Records Room, but hopefully the matter will be resolved and the kids will get their machine shortly," said Crawford.
     One student told The Inquirer: "All of us were very disappointed with the School District because in this instance, they failed to treat us with respect.  Whereas, the Superintendent of Schools and the Deputy Superintendent have been very supportive, some others seem to have no real interest in what we are doing here."
     Another student stated: "We have worked very hard to create a filing system in the Records Room, but in many instances, it takes a very long time to retrieve records. The system needs to be digitized so records can be located more efficiently."
     Throughout the years, students who graduate from Project “Genesis” make it a point to stay in touch with Crawford, since he treats all the students with the greatest respect, and nurtures them like a father figure.
     Teonda King, an '04 graduate of MVHS, recently visited Crawford and told The Inquirer: "Project "Genesis" prepared me in a big way for what I currently do today as an entrepreneur. "Genesis" taught me about computers; how to be responsible; helped improve my public speaking skills, since I was a spokesperson for the group at board meetings, and prepared me for the real world."
     Another Project “Genesis” graduate, Christina Dennis, founding CEO of "Genesis" and MVHS graduate '02, went on to graduate with honors, from Bentley College , Waltham Mass., majoring in Economics, and is now a reports analyst with the Federal Reserve Bank in New York City .
     The success stories surrounding the students who graduate from Project “Genesis” are endless, all saying that Project “Genesis” made a positive difference in their lives.
     The current group of students involved in Project “Genesis” hopes that the School District will become more supportive of their efforts, since what they are doing is so positive.
       Each student that has ever been part of Project "Genesis" has always demonstrated commitment, dedication, passion, integrity and perseverance, which is why the program has been such an overwhelming success since 1999.