News Releases
Baltimore Schools to Get 400 Computers on "TECH Day II"
August 1, 1996 Officials from the Office of the Vice President and federal agencies will join U.S. Representative Ben Cardin and other state and local leaders at Dunbar High School for "TECH Day II" on Saturday, August 3, to transfer nearly 400 excess federal computers to public schools and educational nonprofits in the Baltimore Empowerment Zone. "TECH Day II" will demonstrate how local, state and federal leadership can work together to help put computers in America's schools. The project is a pilot for the implementation of Executive Order 12999, "Education Technology: Ensuring Opportunity for All Children in the Next Century," signed by President Clinton and announced by Vice President Gore on April 17, 1996. "TECH Day II" will bring together community volunteers, teachers, parents, and students from about 20 Empowerment Zone schools to participate in a hands-on workshop to learn to test, repair, and refurbish the computers to have them ready for the start of the school year.
TIME: LOCATION: Executive Order 12999 and "TECH Day II" President Clinton's Executive Order 12999, "Education Technology: Ensuring Opportunity for All Children in the Next Century," issued on April 17, 1996, streamlines the process by which federal agencies can give their excess computer equipment to schools and educational nonprofit groups. It is part of the Administration's four-part initiative to ensure that all children in America get access to the computer technology they will need in the information-intensive 21st century. Working with the private sector, the Administration is committed to helping put computers in schools, connect students to the information superhighway, assist teachers with professional development, and encourage the creation of excellent educational software. "TECH Day II" represents the kind of partnership envisioned by the President in Executive Order 12999: six federal agencies (the Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Highway Administration, NASA, the General Services Administration, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Education) have donated computers and delivery resources; Microsoft has donated operating systems for each machine; the Baltimore City Public Schools, Empower Baltimore Management Corporation, and the Baltimore Federal Executive Board have recruited schools and Village Center volunteers as well as federal resources; and the Lazarus Foundation, a local nonprofit computer recycling organization, has been working with the volunteers to test and upgrade the machines and supplement the federal donations. At the start of the school year, about 20 Empowerment Zone schools and nonprofits will have nearly 400 computers up and running thanks to this successful partnership. After the successful completion of the Baltimore project, "TECH Day" will be replicated in other Empowerment Zones and communities throughout America. Index of News Releases
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