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President Clinton's New Markets Trip: Motivating Young People to Get Connected in East Palo Alto
The President's New Markets
Trip:
From Digital Divide to Digital Opportunity
April 17 - 18, 2000
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(East Palo Alto, California)
For Immediate ReleaseApril 17, 2000
THE PRESIDENT'S NEW MARKETS TRIP:
FROM DIGITAL DIVIDE TO DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY
Motivating Young People to "Get Connected" in East Palo Alto
April 17, 2000
TODAY, PRESIDENT CLINTON WILL KICKOFF HIS DIGITAL DIVIDE NEW MARKETS TRIPIN EAST PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA TO HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF ALL YOUNGPEOPLE HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY AND THE MOTIVATION TO "GET CONNECTED."President Clinton will kick off his third New Markets trip in East PaloAlto, CA, where he will hold a discussion with Reverend Jesse Jackson, NewYork Liberty star Rebecca Lobo, high-tech CEOs, community leaders and youngpeople from East Palo Alto. His discussion will center on motivating andinspiring all young people to "get connected" and become technologicallyliterate as a means to increasing their future economic potential. ThePresident will emphasize how critical information technology skills are tocompeting for the high-tech, high-wage jobs of the 21st century. Thediscussion will be webcast on the Internet, giving young people across thecountry an opportunity to email questions to the President.
President Clinton will announce several private and public sectorcommitments that expand "digital opportunity" for underserved communities,families and youth. He will then participate in a roundtable withcorporate and community leaders, focusing on the importance of closing thedigital divide.
Today's visit comes two weeks after the President issued his "National Callto Action" with two major national goals:
Provide 21st Century Learning Tools for Every Child in Every School.To reach this goal, America needs to connect every classroom to theInternet, provide all students with access to computers, trainteachers to integrate technology into the curriculum, and provide highquality educational content and software.
Create Digital Opportunity for Every American Family and Community.For all families and communities to benefit from the New Economy, wemust ensure that all Americans have access to technology and the skillsneeded to use it. We must work to make home access to the Internetuniversal, bring technology to every neighborhood, empower all citizenswith IT skills, and motivate young people to "get connected."
EAST PALO ALTO HAS NOT FULLY SHARED IN THE NATION'S DIGITAL REVOLUTIONAlthough it is in the heart of Silicon Valley, East Palo Alto has notshared equally in the region's phenomenal economic expansion. Whileprogress has been made, the city still faces significant economicchallenges.
High Poverty Over 80 percent of local K-8 students are eligible forthe free lunch program (CA Dept. of Finance, 2000).
Lack of Education Technology East Palo Alto schools have a 28 to 1student/ computer ratio, limiting the ability of teachers to usetechnology in the classroom. (CA Dept. of Ed., 1999).
PRESIDENT CLINTON, AND CORPORATE AND COMMUNITY LEADERS WILL ANNOUNCE OVER$100 MILLION IN COMMITMENTS TO BRING DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY TO YOUTH FAMILIESAND COMMUNITIES:
The Kaiser Family Foundation Commits to a Media Campaign to MotivateYoung People to "Get Connected." Magic Johnson and Rebecca LoboWill Star in the Public Service Announcements that Will Air on 13 MajorNetworks. BET Will Also Produce and Air PSAs to EncourageAfrican-Americans to Participate in Digital Economy.
HP Announces $15 Million Partnership to Expand Digital Opportunity in3 Communities, Including East Palo Alto
Gateway Launches Program for Technology Training for 75,000 Teachers-- Including All East Palo Alto Teachers
QUALCOMM Commits $25 Million to Bridge the Digital Divide in San Diego-- Including $7 Million for Math and Science Education
PowerUP Commits to Expanding to 250 Technology Centers for UnderservedYouth Across the Country - With Major Support from AOL (100,000 FreeAccounts Valued at $26 Million Annually)
Novell Will Donate $20 Million in Software to Non-Profits Devoted toUnderserved Hispanic Populations
Cisco Systems Pledges $1.4 Million to Develop 10 Pilot NetworkingAcademies
Applied Materials Pledges $1 Million for Digital Divide Projects -Including a Partnership with the Rainbow/ PUSH Coalition to Create aHigh-Tech Job Training Center in East Palo Alto
AT&T Pledges $1.2 Million to The Academy Of Information Technology
PeoplePC Will Provide 300 Computers and Internet Access to Schools inthe East Palo Alto Community
govWorks's Community Commitment Program Will Donate Computer Equipmentto Communities it Serves
A COMPLETE LIST OF PRESIDENT CLINTON AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR'S INITIATIVESTO BRING DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY TO YOUTH, FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES
The Kaiser Family Foundation And Black Entertainment TelevisionAnnounce Public Service Campaigns to Motivate Young People toParticipate in Technology. President Clinton will highlight the effortsof the Kaiser Family Foundation and Black Entertainment Television(BET) to help motivate young people to "get connected" and raise public awareness about the digital divide. The Kaiser Family Foundation willproduce public service announcements (PSA) featuring celebrities androle models who will highlight their connections to technology andencourage young people to recognize ways that becoming technologicallyliterate can open doors to them. Magic Johnson and Rebecca Loboare the first celebrities to agree to appear in the PSA campaign. NBC,ABC, CBS, BET, MTV, Fox, TBS, TNT, UPN, The Cartoon Network, Odyssey, TheDisney Channel, Univision and the WB will all air the PSAs. The NationalAssociation of Broadcasters will distribute the PSAs to their 1,000members. The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the AmericanLibrary Association and the Digital Divide Network have also agreed tosupport this effort.
BET will produce and air the PSAs on the BET Cable Network,encouraging African- Americans to use the Internet and to participatein the digital economy. The PSA's will feature majorAfrican-American celebrities from the music, sports and film industriesexplaining the importance of African-American participation in the digitaleconomy, as consumers, employees and entrepreneurs. In addition,BET.com and BET Holdings will sponsor an online celebrity auction tobenefit efforts to address the digital divide.
Hewlett-Packard Announces a $15 Million Digital Village Initiative --New Program To Start in East Palo Alto. HP will invest up to$15 million in products, partnerships and people in 3 underservedcommunities -- starting in East Palo Alto. HP's comprehensive approachwill focus on programs that serve adults and kids at home, in school, andthrough community centers:
HP @ Home will help families learn and grow together;
HP @ School will emphasize enhancing K-12 education through the useof technology; and
HP @ Neighborhood Community Centers will help adults and kids tolearn, communicate and explore using the Internet, both before andafter school.
Gateway Launches Teach America! and Commits to Training 75,000Teachers -- Including All East Palo Alto Teachers. Gateway haspledged to provide 75,000 teachers with technology literacy trainingunder the Teach America! program. This effort will provide teacherswith hundreds of courses to increase their use of the Internet andmultimedia applications. All East Palo Alto's teachers will be trained inthe Teach America! program on ways to effectively utilize technologyin the classroom. The Waitt Family Foundation has previously made a majordonation of 50,000 Gateway computers for use at PowerUP sites acrossthe country.
QUALCOMM Commits $25 Million to Bridge the Digital Divide in San Diego-- Including $7 Million for K-12 Math and Science Education. QUALCOMMwill help to close the digital divide with a $25 million commitment --including $7 million to improve math and science education in SanDiego schools through investments in educational technology andenhancing the math and science instructional skills of K-12 teachers.
PowerUP Unveils 250 New Sites in 43 States Across the Country. ThePowerUP program will announce a major expansion of its successfulprogram to give underserved youth access to technology and guidance onhow to use it. PowerUP will have 250 - up from 19 -- new,fully-equipped and staffed sites by the end of 2000. PowerUP iscomprised of more than a dozen non-profit organizations, major corporationsand federal agencies. The federal AmeriCorps program is a strongsupporter of the PowerUP effort and has assigned 400 members towork in PowerUP sites. Partners that have contributed to the launch ofthe first 250 sites include America Online, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard,Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, America's Promise, the Steve CaseFoundation, the Waitt Family Foundation, Americorps*Vista, Boys & GirlsClubs, Communities in Schools, National Urban League, Save theChildren, YMCA and the Department of Education.
American Online Pledges 100,000 Free AOL Accounts Valued at $26Million Annually. The expansion of the PowerUP is made possible becauseof commitments from a number of organizations -- including a pledge byAOL to provide 100,000 AOL accounts to PowerUP sites, valued at $26million annually.
Novell Will Donate $20 Million in Software to Non-Profits Devoted toHelping Underserved Hispanic Populations. Novell is expanding itssoftware donation program to include non-profits that help underservedHispanic populations. The donated software has a retail valueof $20 million. Currently, many non-profits are lagging behind theprivate sector in their use of the Internet and information technology.
Cisco Systems, HUD and Communities In Schools Announce 10 PilotNetworking Academies. Cisco Systems, Inc., the Department ofHousing and Urban Development, and Communities In Schools will announcea program valued at $1.4 million to establish 10 Cisco NetworkingAcademies in underserved communities. The Cisco Networking AcademyProgram teaches students to design, build, and maintain computer networksthrough a 280-hour web-based curriculum and hands-on laboratory exerciseson real networks. HUD, Cisco and Communities In Schools are alsoestablishing internship opportunities so that Academy students graduatenot only with a marketable skill, but also with on-the-job experience.Academy graduates who pass the industry standard Cisco Certified NetworkAssociate exam are immediately eligible for informationtechnology jobs with high starting salaries.
Applied Materials Pledges $1 Million and Partners with the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition to Create a High-Tech Job Training Center. AppliedMaterials has pledged $1 million to help provide "information foreveryone," starting with the development of a high-tech job trainingcenter for the people of East Palo Alto, in partnership with localgovernment and Reverend Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.
Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) Will Pledge$1 Million to Reduce the Digital Divide in Silicon Valley. SEMI, theglobal trade association for the semiconductor equipment and materialsindustry, is pledging $1 million dollars to five workforcedevelopment programs focused on reducing the digital divide. Theorganizations that will receive $200,000 each are: Workforce SiliconValley; Industry and Technology Outreach Foundation; Jose A. ValdezMath Institute; and the Charitech Civic Venture Fund.
AT&T Announces a $1.2 Million Commitment to the Academy of InformationTechnology. AT&T will support the Academy of Information Technology with$1.2 million to develop a high school curriculum that will preparestudents for jobs in the IT industry. In addition, AT&T will commit$250,000 to develop a national forum series for underservedcommunities to engage high school students and policymakers in a dialogueabout economic opportunities, education, job skills, and leadership forthe 21st century.
PeoplePC Commits to Providing Multimedia Computers to the East PaloAlto Community. The President will announce a pledge by PeoplePCto provide the schools of East Palo Alto with 300 new brand name computersystems and unlimited Internet access. Currently, the elementaryschools in East Palo Alto have a student-to-computer ratio of 28-to-1,making it difficult for computers and the Internet to be used as powerfultools for learning in the classroom.
govWorks, Inc., Announces the Community Commitment Program to Reinvestin Communities Around the Country. govWorks, Inc. will announce thelaunch of its Community Commitment program to help communities acrossthe country address the digital divide. govWorks will reinvest a portionof its revenue in local communities to purchase computers, high-speedInternet access and technology training, which will be donated tolibraries, public schools, and community centers. It will launch a pilotof its Community Commitment program this week by donating computers anda year's supply of high speed Internet access to the Thomas CreightonElementary School in Philadelphia, PA and to Nora Navara PublicLibrary in New Orleans, LA. Additionally, govWorks plans toprovide the school and library staff with computer and Internettraining. govWorks expects to roll out its Community Commitment program in50 cities by the end of the year.
NetDay and TechNet "One-Stop-Shop" for Educational Technology. ThePresident will announce a commitment from NetDay and TechNet todevelop an Internet-based "one-stop-shop" of information on educationaltechnology, including technology planning, hardware, educationalsoftware, professional development, and sources of financial support.The database will be designed for principals, teachers, parent supportgroups, and community members.
The ThinkQuest? Program Bridges the Digital Divide by Reaching Out toUnderserved Students. ThinkQuest, a non-profit Internet-based educationinitiative, will announce a partnership with the Department ofEducation's TRIO and Community Technology Center programs, HUD'sNeighborhood Network centers and ABILITY Awareness to bringThinkQuest's award-winning program to the large number of students inunderserved schools and communities as well as to students withdisabilities. The ThinkQuest program guidelines promote teamsthat include members from diverse levels of computer competency whocome from various cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. Todate more than 50,000 students and educators from 100 countries haveparticipated in ThinkQuest.
The Department of Education Announces Technology Innovation ChallengeGrants. The Department of Education will announce three new TechnologyInnovation Challenge Grants (TICG) totaling $24 million over 5 years.In-kind contributions to these Technology Innovation projects willtotal more than $67 million. This program serves as a catalyst forpositive change for schools. It supports educators, industry partners,communities, parents, and others who are using new technologies to helpbring high quality education to every classroom and neighborhood.Effective use of new technologies in these communities will contributeto improved student achievement in reading, writing, science,mathematics, history, the arts and other disciplines. Each project willsupport training for teachers and promote greater parent and communityinvolvement in education.
The National Endowment for the Humanities Announces $1.45 Million InSchools for a New Millennium Projects.The National Endowment for theHumanities announces $1.45 million in Schools for a New Millenniumprojects designed to train humanities teachers to integratetechnology tools into their classroom teaching. Schools for a NewMillennium projects include teachers, university scholars, technologyexperts, local museums and libraries, parents and school administratorscommitted to bringing digital opportunity into the classroom.
IN EAST PALO ALTO PRESIDENT CLINTON WILL BE JOINED BY HIGH-TECH ANDCOMMUNITY LEADERS TO ANNOUNCE NEW PARTNERSHIPS TO BRIDGE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
The President will participate in a roundtable discussion with CEOs fromthe technology industry and leaders of the civil rights community andnon-profit organizations. The President will lead a discussion on concretesteps that industry, community organizations and government can take tobridge the digital divide. Participants in the roundtable will include:
Dr. Drew Altman, President & CEO, The Henry J. Kaiser Foundation
Henry Cisneros, President & COO, Univision Communications
Darien Dash, Chairman & CEO, DME Interactive Holdings, Inc.