A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

November 4, 1994                         Contact:  Melinda Kitchell                                                      (202) 401-1008

STAR SCHOOLS ACQUIRE NEARLY $26 MILLION IN FEDERAL SUPPORT

"Children and young adults touched by these Star Schools projects will be able to discover new worlds of opportunity through technology and the 'information superhighway,'" said Sharon Robinson, assistant secretary for educational research and improvement. "Through these projects, teachers will assist their students in reaching standards and in meeting our National Education Goals."

The Star Schools Program supports the use of technology -- via telecommunications networks -- to improve teaching of literacy and job skills and various subjects such as math, science and foreign languages, and to assist underserved populations such as disadvantaged, limited-English-proficient and disabled students. The grants help projects produce and transmit course work and curriculum modules, sent by satellite and other telecommunication systems, to elementary and secondary schools. On-site teachers then pair up with a "studio" teacher to provide instruction via satellite, computer or other electronic means.

Grants were awarded by the department's Office of Educational Research and Improvement in three categories this year: Distance Education Projects, Statewide Networks, and Dissemination.

Seven telecommunications partnerships received grants for Distance Education Projects, ranging from $1.6 million to $4 million. The two-year grants will be used to obtain, develop or produce programs to teach students, train teachers, pay for facilities, or purchase equipment. The program seeks to enhance the workplace and literacy skills of high school students or young adults who are not in school, teach college students who are studying to be teachers, and enhance professional development for practicing teachers and other educational personnel.

In the Statewide Network category, the Kentucky Telelinking Network, in cooperation with the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet, Kentucky Information Systems Commission, Department of Information Systems, Council on Higher Education, Kentucky Department of Education, and the Kentucky Educational Television received a $4 million grant. The project will allow students and teachers across the state to interact using integrated multimedia including Internet access with MOSAIC. The statewide telecommunications network will provide instructional programming through a fiber optic network that uses two-way, full-motion interactive video, voice and data telecommunications.

Three dissemination grants, ranging from $415,000 to $458,000, will help state and local education agencies not yet served by telecommunications partnerships plan for and establish systems. Funded projects will cooperate to better share resources developed from the program throughout the nation.

The Star Schools Program is authorized by Title IX of the Education for Economic Security Act.

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