Business & Education Leaders Push Teacher Prep Component of President's Digital Divide Initiative
_{(Released April 18, 2000)}

Chicago, IL -- American business and education leaders announced they are pressing forward on a massive effort to equip all teachers with the technology skills they need to prepare students for the jobs of the new economy, a key component of President Clinton's efforts to bridge the Digital Divide.

The CEO Forum on Education & Technology, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), and the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) reported that to date, 20 percent of U.S. colleges of education have signed onto a landmark commitment to chart a new course to strengthen the technology component of teacher education programs.

At the encouragement of these groups and Secretary of Education Richard Riley, 216 colleges of education have signed a letter of commitment to the President to improve the nation's teacher preparation programs and ensure every new teacher graduate is fully prepared to use and integrate technology into classroom curriculum.

"We're extremely encouraged by the number of colleges of education that have signed onto this effort, but this is just the beginning. In order for our children to leave school with technology skills and successfully compete in a global economy, the business and education communities must work cooperatively to prepare teachers to integrate technology into the curriculum," said John Hendricks, founder, chairman and CEO of Discovery Communications and Co-Chair of the CEO Forum. "We encourage every college of education that has not yet joined us to commit to applying the STaR Chart self assessment to their institution and support President Clinton's efforts to close the Digital Divide."

"As one strategy to help close the Digital Divide, we must ensure that every future teacher is a well-prepared, technology-proficient educator. We can achieve this by joining forces in new partnerships that enable us to meet the objectives outlined by the CEO Forum's work," said David Imig, president and CEO of American Association for Colleges for Teacher Education.

"The recent initiatives to bridge the Digital Divide must place emphasis on teacher preparation so that all students are prepared to enter the workforce of the new economy. We're hopeful that all colleges of education will seize this opportunity to call attention to their teacher preparation needs," said Arthur Wise, president of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. "NCATE's standards expect teacher candidates to use technology effectively as an instructional tool to help all students learn."

The full text of the commitment letter, and an interactive version of the STaR Chart, is available on the CEO Forum's web site at www.ceoforum.org/scde.html.

The CEO Forum is a unique four-year partnership between business and education leaders who are committed to assessing and monitoring progress toward integrating technology in American schools. The motivating factor is to prepare the next generation of students with the skills they need to be successful in the new century.

Members of the CEO Forum on Education and Technology include: Advanced Network & Services, Inc., America Online, Inc., Apple Computer, Inc., Bell Atlantic Network Services, Inc., BellSouth, Classroom Connect, CompassLearning, Compaq Computer Corporation, Computer Curriculum Corporation, Dell Computer, Discovery Communications, Inc., Flextronics International, IBM, Julien J. Studley, Lucent Technologies, Inc., McKinsey & Company, National Education Association, National School Boards Association, NetSchools Corporation, Newcourt Credit Group, Quality Education Data, The Washington Post Company and ZapMe! Corporation.