State of Arizona
School Facilities Board

NEWS RELEASE

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Revolutionary Education Network Unites State Officials
Comprehensive system provides equal access, promotes life-long learning

Phoenix, Arizona (Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2001) – Today, state officials united to unveil an nationally recognized, unprecedented technology project designed to benefit teachers, students, parents and administrators.

The project is a revolutionary Internet-based education system that provides students and teachers access to instructional and professional development computer programs. The technological resource will help kindergarten through grade 12 students develop thinking and problem solving skills utilizing these new resources and enchaining the total education experience.

In August, Cox Business Services was awarded the four-year $27.9 million Application Service Provider (ASP) contract by the School Facilities Board. The network, delivered by Cox Business Services, the commercial broadband division of Cox Communications, is a partnership between KPMG Consulting, one of the world's largest consulting companies; LearningStation, a leading educational ASP and content aggregator; and Ensynch, an Arizona managed solutions and education technology services provider.

"The award of the ASP contract will revolutionize education in Arizona," stated Dr. Philip E. Geiger, executive director of the School Facilities Board. The ASP will enable schools to access productivity software, over 250 educational titles (i.e., content, coursework, reference materials), and communications software. These resources will be available over the Internet, making them more assessable to students, staff, parents and teachers-whether working from school or from home.

"Students will be able to access their own work and the district’s software from any place on the planet through the Internet," Geiger continued. "Two very positive aspects of the ASP are the fact that it is easy for teachers to learn and it saves taxpayer dollars."

The ASP will host school, teacher and student websites, provide Student Accountability Information System (SAIS)-compliant management systems, student assessment tracking systems and teacher resource management systems. Software titles include: "Dive Into Math," "Essential Documents in American History" and "Visual Algebra, Geometry and Trigonometry."

"For the past decade around the country and the state, we’ve put an emphasis into getting technology into the classroom," said Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Jaime A. Molera. "The ASP is part of that effort, working to ensure not only do all students have access but that technology is integrated into curriculum and teacher training."

The education ASP will provide powerful, online educational tools and resources for teachers and students and offer content, courseware and reference materials including over 7,000 software titles and other resources on-line. According to Government Information Technology Agency director Rick Zelnak, "applications such as this drive the demand for broadband services.

"Technology thrives on ‘demand drivers’ such as distance learning or telemedicine," continued Zelznak. "Dr. Geiger, the School Facilities Board and the network partners are light years ahead on education technology and the creation of on-line educational content. We must have a telecommunications backbone to deliver the goods."

The network partners will open base offices in Arizona. Ensynch, the managed service provide responsible for the data center, is located in Tempe. Cox Business Services is already an integral part of Arizona’s business community.

"This is good news for Arizona’s economy," said Margie A. Emmermann director of the Department of Commerce. "By fostering these dynamic strategic alliances, this ASP project impacts both short and long-term economic development. It encourages existing companies to grow, brings new companies into Arizona and ultimately results in a better trained workforce."

The Arizona School Facilities Board is charged with administering the Students FIRST law, which mandates that all Arizona schools meet minimum state standards by June 2003. The ASP project is the board’s third step in addressing educational technology in Arizona. Previously, the board purchased 36,000 microcomputers, bringing the computer to student ratio to 1:8 in every school district. More recently, the board approved a $100 million school networking and Internet connectivity project. For more information about the School Facilities Board or the Students FIRST program, see our website at www.sfb.state.az.us.

Arizona Department of Education: For more information about the Department of Education, contact Tom Collins, Press Secretary, at 602-542-5072, or visit www.aazdes.gov.

Government Information Technology Agency partners with state agencies and private sector organizations to improve information technology capabilities, both technical and human, to efficiently add value and improve delivery of quality public services for the people of Arizona. For more information about GITA please contact Rick Zelznak or Susan Patrick at (602) 340-8538, or visit www.azgita.gov.

Arizona Department of Commerce: For further information about the Department of Commerce web site www.azcommerce.com, or contact Jami McFerren Beams at 602- 280-8195.

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