CHELMSFORD, Mass., Oct. 4 -- The oldschoolhouse won't look the same after Cisco Systems and community volunteerspull thousands of feet of cable and install dozens of Internet connectionsin McCarthy Middle School in Chelmsford, Mass., as part of MassNetDay96.The one-day initiative to connect Massachusetts K-12 schools to the Internetwill give 843 students and 51 teachers at McCarthy access to whole newworlds of information.
"Schools have always taught reading, writing and arithmetic. Now we canadd 'resource' for all of the information students and teachers can tap intowith an Internet connection," said John Morgridge, chairman of the board atCisco Systems, Inc., which has its New England R&D operation in Chelmsford."As an original sponsor of NetDay California and a long-time supporter ofeducation, Cisco Systems is proud to donate the time, talent and equipmentto give McCarthy Middle School what it needs to make Mass NetDay96 asuccess."
Volunteers from Cisco Systems, the school and the Chelmsford communitywill gather on Saturday, October 26 to run cable, drill holes, installequipment and connect McCarthy Middle School to the Internet. By the end ofthe day, the library, computer lab and four classrooms will have more than 40personal computers with Internet access.
"Chelmsford has long been dedicated to bringing technology into theclassroom," said Bernard DiNatale, director of education technology forChelmsford School District. "With this partnership for Mass NetDay, CiscoSystems is helping Chelmsford shave a year off its five-year technology plan-- and put us one step closer to linking our community in a web of sharedresources."
The partnership was announced by Mr. Morgridge and Mr. DiNatale during akick-off event for Mass NetDay96 at McCarthy Middle School. Students,teachers and officials from McCarthy Middle School and the Town ofChelmsford were joined at the announcement by a group of volunteers fromCisco Systems who will install wire and equipment on NetDay and helpteachers integrate the Internet into classroom lessons. The company isalso donating Internet access equipment and helping design the network forMcCarthy Middle School.
Cisco Citizens to "Mine" the Internet for Teachers
At the kick-off event, Mr. Morgridge introduced the Cisco Citizen programfor Cisco employees who want to volunteer at a school in their community."Whatever their talents, Cisco Citizens will help deliver on the promise ofthe Internet and the abundance of new technology in the classroom," he said.Volunteers will work with teachers and department chairpersons to help"mine" resources on the Internet that can be applied directly to classroomcurricula and special projects.
Morgridge noted that many employees have already registered to volunteerat schools in the area, including schools in Chelmsford.
McCarthy Middle School is one of approximately 150 schools inMassachusetts that is planning to connect to the Internet on Mass NetDay96,according to Steve Miller, executive director of MassNetworks EducationPartnership, Inc.
"MassNetworks applauds the partnership between Cisco Systems and theChelmsford schools," Miller said. "Mass NetDay96 is all about makingtechnology more accessible to our schools, and McCarthy Middle School isabout to take a giant step forward because of the dedication and commitmentin this community. We welcome McCarthy to cyberspace."
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) is the leading global supplier of
MassNetworks Education Partnership, Inc., is a volunteer, non-partisanorganization of people from education, business, government, and laborworking together to bring the Internet into Massachusetts schools. Itsmission is to help give teachers the tools so they can give students theskills needed for success in the 21st century. MassNetworks' home page ishttp://www.massnetworks.org.
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