Hands poised to click, a roomful of teens focus their attention on their computer monitors.
But this is no ordinary schoolroom. This is the Cisco Networking Academy at the Gainesville State School, and the students, who are all 16 to 19 years old, are serving time for crimes that include drug possession, sexual offenses and aggravated assault. And their program is just one of a number of initiatives that give a fresh new tilt to creating qualified IT professionals. The shortage of qualified IT workers shows no sign of improvement. This past April, the Information Technology Association of America released an update to its 1998 study on the IT work force in the United States.