Bell Atlantic Foundation Awards $535,000 to Link Massachusetts Students to the Future

Bell Atlantic Foundation Awards $535,000
to Link Massachusetts Students to the Future

Company Funds Projects in 48 Massachusetts Communities

April 15, 1999

MARLBORO, Mass. -- Students and educators throughout the state will
benefit from more than $535,000 in grants awarded by the Bell Atlantic
Foundation for school-to-career initiatives that creatively use technology
in education. Overall, 20 grants will benefit organizations representing 48
Massachusetts communities.

Winners include:

• The University Park Campus School in Worcester, which
  received $48,000 for a project involving Clark University,
  Goddard School of Science, Main South Community
  Development, Worcester Adult Education Program, and the
  Worcester Public Schools;

• The Boston Public Schools, which won $70,000, including a
  $40,000 grant for a project with Bunker Hill Community
  College, and

• Merrimack Valley MentorNet, which was awarded $37,000
  for a program with the North Andover Public Schools,
  Andover Public Schools, Methuen Public Schools, Greater
  Lawrence Technical School (GLTS), Methuen Senior Center,
  Andover Council on Aging, North Andover Council on Aging,
  Mariner Health Care, Merrimack Valley Chamber of
  Commerce, Greater Lawrence School-to-Careers Advisory
  Board and Sun Associates.

The grants were presented during a ceremony today at the Massachusetts
Tech Prep/School-To-Work Conference in Marlboro, Mass. David
Driscoll, Massachusetts commissioner of education, and Bob Mudge, Bell
Atlantic vice president - Massachusetts, hosted the ceremony.

"The EdLink awards help students see practical applications of what they
learn, and help prepare them to pursue higher education that targets their
interests and abilities," Driscoll said. "School-to-career systems help
learners of all ages, races and cultures acquire important knowledge and
practical skills that lead to satisfying employment and help build strong
local economies. These awards are a great way to inspire educators and
students to explore the business world through the use of technology.
These experiences can be used to enhance learning, improve basic skills
and provide access to vast information resources."

Mudge added, "As the largest private employer in the state, Bell Atlantic
realizes how important it is for schools, businesses and communities to
partner to help students discover links between school and the workplace.
Given the power of today's technology tools, the EdLink awards will help
educators better prepare students for careers in the 21st century."

Bell Atlantic established the EdLink awards two years ago to support
emerging technological needs in education. This year, the program is
supporting school-to-career initiatives that use innovative technology. The
grants target grades 7 - 12 in public and private school districts, which
collaborate on projects with institutions of higher education, community
organizations or partnerships.

In the University Park Campus School project, students will use
geographic information system technology to help prepare for college and
the 21st century technology job market, and to take a critical look at ways
to improve their neighborhood. The project will serve 250 students from
Worcester's Main South neighborhood and their parents.

In the Boston Public Schools project, teacher-student teams from five
middle and high schools will prepare to serve on rapid-response
technology teams in their buildings in collaboration with faculty and
students in Bunker Hill Community College's Associate in Science
Program. These teams will conduct after-school seminars for their
colleagues and infuse technologies into their school curricula. Bunker Hill
Community College students will mentor middle and high school students,
and BHCC graduates who are technology professionals will serve as
online consultants for the teams.

The Merrimack Valley MentorNet Program is a collaborative project
which brings together students from four high schools, retired individuals
and area employees to foster communications about careers and workplace
preparedness. Through the use of telecommunications and face-to-face
interactions, students and their mentors will explore career paths.
Participating students will build computers for use in the senior centers.

All 20 winning proposals promote collaboration among schools, teachers,
businesses and communities; increase teachers' and students' technology
skills, and develop models that can be used in other communities and
schools.

In addition to EdLink, which provides support for in-school education
programs, Bell Atlantic also is giving $500,000 this year to after-school
programs across the Commonwealth in collaboration with the United
Way, and an additional $100,000 to the Greater Boston YMCA for an
after-school quality initiative. This year, Bell Atlantic will invest a total of
more than $3 million in a variety of education, civic, cultural and health
programs in Massachusetts.

The Bell Atlantic Foundation supports a variety of projects domestically
and internationally, with an emphasis on new technology applications in
education, health and human services, the arts and humanities, and civic
development in the communities served by Bell Atlantic. For more
information, visit www.bellatlanticfoundation.com on the Internet.

Winners of Partnership Grants (up to $50,000) include:

Boston Public Schools
Bristol Tech Prep Consortium
Cape Cod National Seashore
East Boston High School
Hampden County Career Center
Mass. Consortium for Distance Education/UMass Lowell
Merrimack Valley MentorNet Program
Needham High School
Norfolk County Agricultural High School
Quincy Public Schools
Roxbury Multi-Service Center
Telecom City School-to-Career Initiative
University Park Campus School
Whitman-Hanson Regional School District

Winners of Classroom Grants (up to $10,000) include:

Beverly High School
Citizens School, Inc./Boston
Fitchburg Public Schools
McCann Technical School
Prince School/Princeton
Watertown High School

For complete EdLink project descriptions, refer to our website at
www.bellatlanticfoundation.com.