A partnership announced today between The Colorado Business Roundtable, Clear Channel Satellite Services and Denver Public Schools will provide Distance Learning capabilities to Colorado school districts in remote areas of the state, including those with limited resources.

This project was developed in the spirit of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The goal of the project is to bring broader instructional content and professional development training to all Colorado schools.

The academic content to be delivered via Distance Learning - over television - will be interactive and involve different subjects at once. The content will be designed specifically for each grade level and based on Colorado state content standards. The following subjects will be available:

• Elementary French, Spanish, social studies, science, math and art
• ELA (English Language Acquisition) for elementary students and adults
• Adult Spanish instruction
• Harvard Annenberg staff development programs

“This is a great partnership between private, public and non-profit organizations that are working together to provide new and creative educational services for Colorado’s children,” said Tom Stevens, chief technology officer for DPS.
Utilizing the latest MPEG-4 technology, this project takes Denver Public Schools’ current distance learning courses to a new level.

Currently, DPS operates in a two-way voice, one-way video environment. In other words, the students could see and hear the teacher, but the teacher could only hear the students. With the new system, the teacher will also be able to see and hear students, meaning that rural teachers will able to co-teach with DPS teachers and allow DPS teachers to view the remote classrooms, students, and their work. Simultaneously, the content will continue to be delivered to 55 DPS elementary schools in the one-way video, two-way voice scenario.

Don Harms, Vice President and General Manager of Clear Channel Satellite Services, describes his enthusiasm for the project: “I grew up in Granby, Colorado and experienced first-hand some of the financial challenges and limitations that small districts incur when trying to provide a robust choice of course offerings. This project that we have committed to support is our chance to make it better for a new generation.”

Potential participating districts include Denver Public Schools, Lone Star School District, Pueblo County Rural 70, DeBeque School District and Holyoke School District.

The pilot participants are responsible for providing critical feedback and creating funding models for the implementation of the Distance Learning project, including content delivery and instructional benefits, before the program is introduced at a statewide level.

“Our organization’s mission is to support educational initiatives in Colorado,” said Gayle Dendinger, Chairman of the Board of The Colorado Business Roundtable said. “We are proud to have brought the participating entities together and are excited about funding this innovative pilot. All three partners in this endeavor are committed to making the pilot a success and moving this concept forward beyond this next school year.”

Janet Michaels, Superintendent of Lone Star School District is very excited about the project.

“We went to Denver and saw what they had been doing in the area of distance learning,” she said. “The most amazing thing was the way the kids were engaged in the learning. We are excited to partner with this team and help to develop a two-way satellite distance learning model for the state. Teachers team teaching across vast distances in real time gives us an opportunity to enhance our children’s learning. We intend to use this service to provide professional development for our teachers and new classes we have not been able to offer before.”

Active content delivery is projected to begin broadcasting in the 2003-2004 school year.

For more information, or to arrange interviews by phone or in person, please contact: Tom Stevens, Department of Technology Services at DPS, 720-423-3702; Jan Mazotti, Colorado Business Roundtable, 303-322-1915, ext. 268; Don Harms, Clear Channel Satellite Services, 303-925-1708; or Janet Michaels, Lone Star School Superintendent, 970-848-2778.

Background:

The Colorado Business Roundtable is a policy advisory, project-oriented organization focusing on promoting economic strength and world-class education, while preserving Colorado's environment and unique way of life. The goal of the Roundtable is to apply the knowledge, creativity, and leadership resources of its CEO members to the challenges facing the State, specifically providing an edge for government, business, and Colorado residents.

Denver Public Schools (DPS) is a proven, quality Distance Learning content provider. The Department of Technology Services has been involved in the delivery of Distance Learning services to staff and children of Denver Public Schools for the past eight years. These services are delivered over Cable Channel 22 and an ITFS closed microwave system. Both of these channels are used during the course of the school year to deliver live instructional content seven hours a day using one-way video and two-way voice delivery three days a week. In addition, both channels deliver district bulletin boards for a news service and a variety of education-focused, taped, in-service materials from organizations such as the Annenberg Institute. Community programming is also delivered and includes international news from Berlin in English, Spanish and German.

Clear Channel Satellite Services provides audio and data satellite distribution for the nation's top radio networks, sports teams, music shows and syndicated programs. All C and Ku-band satellite delivery is via AMC-1, AMC-2, AMC-4, AMC-8, PAS-3 AND NSS-7. Clear Channel Satellite Services network operation center provides 24/7 technical support for our clients. Complete turnkey hardware installation, satellite and terrestrial backhaul packages are also available for affiliates. Clear Channel Satellite Services, has committed to provide satellite bandwidth and technically support the product and service provided by Clear Channel on this project.