Several business or computer teachers enlist Buddy students to help solve technical problems and encourage them to explore, and sometimes explain, new technologies. Other subject-matter teachers are generally less aware of the skills Buddy graduates possess, in large part because they don't see students using them. Although one history teacher noted that Buddy students have superior research skills, most secondary subject-matter teachers do not have the opportunity to see these students using such skills. The computer and business teachers and media directors, rather than the English, history, math, or science teachers, generally know more about Buddy students' skills. They see more evidence of skills that distinguish Buddy students from their peers, and they see more ways these skills can be used in secondary schools.
Limited access is a significant barrier to technology use in secondary schools.
Complex schedules limit students' and teachers' access to technology, which is most often available in computer labs that are fully booked with computer classes. They generally do not, however, have the specialized training and experience they need to use these tools, and consequently have not established requirements and expectations for students to use them. Departmentalized curriculum and instruction, accountability, and other challenges both teachers and students face in secondary schools also make it difficult to use technology the way elementary Buddy schools do. They also have shorter periods and see far more students daily than elementary teachers. These realities can preclude the long-term, interdisciplinary projects Buddy encourages.