K-12 High Speed Network and Verizon Announce Partnership to Provide Free Online Resources Through Thinkfinity.org to Help California Educators

Verizon Foundation Grant of $125,000 to Fund Professional Development for Teachers and Trainers

The California K-12 High Speed Network (K12HSN), a state-funded education program, and the Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon, unveiled on September 17th a new initiative that will provide free online resources for California teachers, parents and students, through Verizon's Thinkfinity.org.

Mr. William Trang, science teacher at Thomas A. Edison Middle School in Los Angeles, conducts a teaching demonstration using Verizon Thinkfinity.org with his eighth-grade science class.

"We are pleased to be working with the Verizon Thinkfinity program and the vast resources it brings to California's educators," said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell. "This is a critical time in education. Partnerships such as these will help our classrooms embrace opportunities technology brings as they work to close the achievement gap."

Under the initiative, announced at simultaneous news conferences at Thomas A. Edison Middle School in Los Angeles and the state Capitol in Sacramento, Verizon will provide a $125,000 grant to enable K12HSN to coordinate Thinkfinity activities - including providing comprehensive professional development for teachers and trainers -- throughout California. This partnership is designed to broaden awareness of Thinkfinity resources and their capacity to support K-12 teachers in California.

Tim McCallion, Verizon West region president, said: "Whether it's a science teacher looking for interactive resources to explain how gravity works or a parent seeking assistance to help their child on a history report, Thinkfinity.org will help them quickly and easily find the information they need. Verizon is proud to partner with California's education community to help our students achieve."