Bell Atlantic Selects Two West Virginia Schools for WORLD SCHOOL Grants

Bell Atlantic Selects Two West Virginia
Schools
for WORLD SCHOOL Grants

Monies to Help Teachers Use Internet for Education

July 7, 1999

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia teachers in Marion and Wayne
counties will receive funds from the Bell Atlantic WORLD SCHOOL®
Grant Program to help them use the global resources of the Internet for
education.

Since launching the WORLD SCHOOL grants program four years ago,
Bell Atlantic has given over $265,000 to West Virginia schools.

The latest grant winners are Fairview Elementary School in Marion
County and Crum Middle School in Wayne County.

"Today's classroom is no longer limited to four walls and a
blackboard," said Dennis Bone, president and CEO of Bell Atlantic -
West Virginia. "The world is now the classroom, and schools must
be able to communicate globally. No one knows this better than the
teachers who applied for these grants. We at Bell Atlantic applaud them
for their innovative spirit."

Fairview Elementary School will receive a grant of $590 to purchase
weather-related software. Third-grade students will use the Internet to
study climates throughout the world and collect data on local weather
patterns. The teacher is Diana Kay Wells.

Crum Middle School is awarded $1,660 to purchase software and other
equipment so that the Internet can be used as a research tool for classes on
"Famous American Authors," Mythology and Famous
Poets," and "Culture and Society in Other Countries."
The teacher is Victory Lee Ramey.

Bell Atlantic plans to award a total of $40,000 in WORLD SCHOOL
grants in 1999. The company has disbursed more than $15,000 so far this
year and will announce additional winners throughout the year.

Educators can learn more about these and other projects by accessing the
WORLD SCHOOL site on the World Wide Web at
www.wvaworldschool.org.

In addition to providing financial support for schools through the WORLD
SCHOOL Grant Program, Bell Atlantic's WORLD SCHOOL project has
helped nearly 700 public and private schools in West Virginia get high-
speed digital Internet access. Teachers in all public and private schools
served by Bell Atlantic - West Virginia are eligible to submit applications
for the WORLD SCHOOL grant program.

The company awards individual WORLD SCHOOL grants of up to
$4,000. A panel of leaders in education and Bell Atlantic employees
judges all grant proposals. Grant money cannot be used to purchase
tariffed telephone services or hardware, such as computer monitors, hard
disk drives, printers or liquid crystal display panels.

Educators can obtain applications on the WORLD SCHOOL grants
program by calling the Bell Atlantic - West Virginia public relations office
at 1-800-642-8206.

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.

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and
information industry. With 43 million telephone access lines and nine
million wireless customers worldwide, Bell Atlantic companies are
premier providers of advanced wireline voice and data services, market
leaders in wireless services and the world's largest publishers of directory
information. Bell Atlantic companies are also among the world's largest
investors in high-growth global communications markets, with operations
and investments in 23 countries.