|
THE WAITT FAMILY FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES $500,000
GRANT TO TECHNOLOGY IN EARLY EDUCATION PROGRAM
A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION, THE WAITT FAMILY FOUNDATION, & LOESS
HILLS AREA EDUCATION AGENCY
Total federal/private grant provides nearly
$1,000,000 for Technology in Grades 1, 2 & 3
Council Bluffs, IA - February 14, 2001-The
Waitt Family Foundation, the Siouxland-based
philanthropic program of Ted and Joan Waitt,
today announced a major financial commitment
to the "Technology in Early Education Program," a
public/private partnership with the United States
Department of Education and Loess Area Education
Agency (AEA 13). United States Senator Tom Harkin
(D-IA) lent key support and leadership to the
development of the partnership and to the application
for the Department of Education grant. He announced
the government's support in April of 2000.
The program will help fulfill the need for technology-focused curriculum
as well as alleviate the dearth of technology in the lower grade level
classrooms of the Council Bluffs and the Griswold Community School Districts-located
in the Loess AEA 13.
The funds will be used to purchase technology, train teachers, and evaluate
the success of this three-year program. $460,000 of the program's funding
is a result of the US Department of Education's "Technology Challenge" grant
program; $500,000 in funding is a direct grant from the Waitt Family
Foundation.
"
We are excited by this private/public partnership. It will provide young
students and their teachers with the best in technology and training
and will serve as a model from which other schools should benefit down
the road," said Ted Waitt, founder of the Waitt Family Foundation. "I
can't thank Senator Harkin enough for his willingness to lead in this
effort, and the Waitt Family Foundation is honored to help."
The funding and program will also allow for the development of two demonstration
sites that will serve as models for other school districts.
"
Technology is key to our future, particularly for our youngest children," said
U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA). "It is critical that we begin teaching
students in the earliest grades how to use and learn with the latest
technology. This project will change how we think about education and
how children will learn an be taught."
The Loess Hills AEA 13 will administer the three-year project. "Funding
from this grant will support some of the most innovative practices utilizing
technology to improve teaching and learning for children in elementary
classrooms," said Jim Blietz, Administrator for the AEA 13.
About The Waitt Family Foundation
Ted Waitt, Founder of the Gateway Computer Company, and his wife Joan
incorporated the Waitt Family Foundation in September 1992 in order to
help good people do great things for families.
The Waitt Family Foundation is dedicated to building strong, healthy
futures for families through their communities and believes that stable
and empowered families are the building blocks of a safe, open, and prosperous
world. The Foundation takes a broad and long-term view of the family
that includes all its global and cultural diversity and examines its
challenges from the standpoint of the Past, the Present and the Future.
The Foundation envisions a world in which every child and family has
the opportunity to choose their own futures and succeed in fulfilling
their dreams.
The Core Objectives of the Foundation are to:
- Empower Communities - Enhance the capacity
of communities to promote positive social change
supportive of families
- Leverage Partnerships - Partner with projects
that show promise and are widely applicable
- Communicate Ideas - Help in the dissemination
of new ideas to communities and families that
will help them plan in the present for a better
future
|
