Justin Sellers and Rosendo Mar, both 13, are working on a word analogy project in seventh-grade English, and with a push of a button, turn in their assignment.

Down the hall in a social studies class, students huddle around a few white, notebook computers and type key terms on their work and get an impromptu spelling lesson as they type.

Class presentations are done with video and interactive displays. Many times teachers don’t have to worry about passing out and collecting assignments — it’s all done through wireless connection.

It’s all happening at Washington Middle School, and indications are that it’s improved test scores and student involvement.

The school, one of Kenosha Unified’s most impoverished based on free and reduced lunches, has been honored as an Apple Distinguished School for its one-to-one laptop computer program and how it incorporates technology into class work. It is one of 33 nationwide — and the only one in Wisconsin — to receive the recognition.

Information technology instructor Kip Keckler was also recognized as an Apple Distinguished Educator, one of 52 nationwide.

Apple gives the distinction to a limited number of schools and teachers that meet a range of criteria including access to computers, how they’re incorporated into everyday work, and use of new technologies and engagement in the classroom.

Washington first became a one-to-one computer school during the 2006-07 school year.

For students now in the eighth grade, having a computer to take home every day is nothing different than taking home a notebook or a textbook.

“This is just part of the digital environment,” Keckler said. “A hundred years ago, a book was a precious thing to take home from school. Now books are commonplace. This is special now, but it’s where the future is going.”

Before any of the students get a computer, they go through at least a month of “boot camp” where they learn how to use and treat the computer that’s incorporated into everything they do. As a result, Keckler said, only about 2 to 3 percent of computers each year are lost or broken, as opposed to the 8 percent they were told to expect.

“This is another tool for students, just like a textbook,” he said. “We cannot provide insurance, but we encourage parents to use that. Just like a textbook, if you rip out a page or damage it, you have to pay.”

But the payoff is worth it, as students throughout the school said it provides a more engaging platform to learn.

“It helps a lot with taking notes,” said eighth-grader Makenzie Walker, 14, adding the computer also helps her with math problems and presentations — skills she’s learning now that will help her become a graphic designer, she said.

Washington Principal Beth Sabo said, in the first year, students with the computers scored higher on state tests.

“We have more challenges, but this provides the opportunity to level the playing field and provides more opportunities for students,” she said. “We had career day here yesterday, and one of the students did her father’s entire video presentation by computer.”

For some students, it might be the only computer in their home.

“And a family can use it,” Keckler added, “as long as it’s for education.”

Sellers said he’s become a better student because he turns in more work. Mar said when he doesn’t understand a math problem at home, he can call up a Web site that shows video on how to work out problems.

English teacher Shelley Burnett said success can be measured by how students are engaged in learning.

“Some students who might not turn in work, now turn in work because it’s a push of the button,” she said. “I can put stuff in their electric folder.

“When I was their age, we walked down to the computer lab, and maybe we learned how to do work on a program. They learn how to operate the programs and use them. They teach each other.”