Sixty Schools Named Finalists For Intel And Scholastic Schools Of Distinction Awards

SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 5, 2005 - Today 60 schools will be named finalists for the Intel and Scholastic Schools of Distinction Awards. The schools will compete for $230,000 in grants from the Intel Foundation and additional prizes from sponsoring companies to be presented at an awards ceremony this October.

The Schools of Distinction Award program honors schools for implementing innovative and replicable programs that support positive educational outcomes. Now in its second year, the award program is sponsored by Intel -- the world's largest chip maker and long-time champion of educational improvement -- and Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education and media company.

"The program celebrates the successes of some of the nation's best schools," said Brenda Musilli, Intel director of education. "It allows us to highlight the effective use of technology, the benefits of strong math and science programs, and the development of excellent classroom teachers."

Francie Alexander, chief academic officer at Scholastic, added, "These awards give us the opportunity to honor what is right with American schools, demonstrate the high level of success achievable, and help other schools replicate that success."

The 60 finalists were chosen from 3,300 public and private schools that participated in the application process. The judging process was overseen by the Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Inc. One elementary school and one secondary school winner will be chosen in each of ten categories, based on three rounds of judging and site visits. From this pool, one school from each group will be named the winner in the "Best of the Best" category. The finalists in each category are:

Academic Achievement - Shows significant academic gains in test scores, graduation rates and students consistently achieve high academic standards.

Collaboration (External) - Demonstrates commitment to and recognition of the important role that external stakeholders (families, businesses and community) play in supporting learning.

Leadership Excellence - Dynamic leaders engage the school and implement comprehensive plans to meet current and future challenges, resulting in higher student achievement levels.

Literary Achievement - Reading and writing curriculum is rationally designed to ensure high achievement levels and significant gains.

Mathematics Achievement - Math curriculum is rationally designed to ensure high levels of achievement and significant gains.

Professional Development - Culture encourages teachers, administrators and staff to work together as a community to improve student learning; continuously, thoughtfully plans professional growth and development.

Science Achievement - Science curriculum is rationally designed to ensure high levels of achievement and significant gains.

Teamwork (Internal) - Engages internal stakeholders in a teamwork approach; principal works collaboratively in planning and decision making with the administration, faculty, parents and volunteers.

Technology Excellence - Excels in effectively using technology and demonstrates its strategic use throughout the school in several areas including school programs, curriculum and management.

Technology Innovation - Shows unique, effective and innovative use of technology in a specific area of the school's program or curriculum.

Best of the Best - Demonstrates overall excellence; has comprehensive programs and consistently achieves high academic standards. An elementary and a secondary school will be chosen from those honored in the above categories.

Two winners will be named in each category at an awards ceremony to be held Oct. 6, in Washington, D.C., and will each receive $10,000.

The two schools honored with a "Best of the Best" award will receive an additional $15,000 for a total award of $25,000 each. Schools winning this award must have a comprehensive program addressing technology, involvement of parents and the community, professional development, teamwork, and consistently achieve high academic standards.

The 20 winning schools will also each receive curriculum materials, professional development resources, software and hardware valued at more than $3 million. Corporate donors are Agilix, Blackboard Inc, Dell Computer Corp., eInstruction Corp., Futurekids, Gateway, Microsoft Corp., Pitsco Inc., Riverdeep Interactive Learning Limited, Scantron Corp., SchoolNet and SMART Technologies, Inc.

Intel's sponsorship of the Schools of Distinction Awards is part of the Intel® Innovation in Education initiative, a sustained commitment - in collaboration with educators and government leaders worldwide - to help today's students develop the higher-level thinking skills they need to participate and succeed in a knowledge-based economy. For more information, visit www.intel.com/education.

Scholastic Corporation is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books and a leader in educational technology. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, film, videos and toys. The company distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs, school-based book fairs, and school-based and direct-to-home continuity programs; retail stores, schools, libraries and television networks; and the company's Internet site, www.scholastic.com.

Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

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