CONTACT: Lynda Quick PHONE: 716-376-8237 September 30, 2002

HOT HIGH TECH SITE LANDS CATTARAUGUS-ALLEGANY BOCES A COOL HALF MILLION

Olean, New York - Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES consortium is one of seven recipients of the New York State Virtual Learning Space (NYSVLS) grant awarded by the New York State Education Department to projects across the state. The $500,000 grant, the highest level awarded, will be used by Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES to make learning tools and educational standards available to teachers, students, administrators and parents in their school district and throughout the state.

SchoolTools.us, scheduled to launch in late September, will become the cornerstone of the New York State Virtual Learning Space project. "The Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES consortium has a significant role to play in this statewide collaborative effort," said James Butterworth, Assistant Commissioner of Education. "They will participate in the transformation of classroom teaching and learning and assist students in achieving higher academic performance and in attaining the knowledge and skills required in the 21st century and global economy."

Understanding that all children learn differently and that textbooks alone were not enough to bring all students up to state standards, our school Superintendents seized the opportunity to put technology to work. According to Dr. Robert Olczak, BOCES District Superintendent, "SchoolTools.us is on the cutting edge and will be used to create and share state standards and assessments, find and close curriculum gaps, provide complete educational maps for an overall picture of K-12 education - one that supports the learning needs of all children, including those with special educational needs." In addition, the website will facilitate communication between parents and teachers and allow educators to communicate with others around the region, state and even the world. Links will guide users to view New York State Learning Standards, tools to create and use virtual learning books, and available next Spring, tools for on-line assessment of teachers and students.

The other winners of the full, $500,000 grants were Buffalo City Schools, Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES, and Oswego City Schools. Schenectady Schools, Nassau BOCES, and Syracuse City Schools all received partial grants. All are previous recipients of TLCF funding. TLCF is a federal grant program that was created to help utilize technology in improving performance, especially among school districts with higher poverty rates and greater need for academic support.

In the past four years, TLCF has distributed approximately $170 million to schools in New York State to improve student performance and technological awareness through the use of educational technology, and helped ensure students are being taught in accordance with state standards. For more details on the scope of the web development project, contact Lynda Quick at (716) 376-8237.