SBC Foundation Launches $5 Million Grant to Support GEAR UP Education Partnerships Across the U.S.

Following overwhelming support from U.S. Senate members, who latelast week passed a significant education-funding bill for 2006, theSBC Foundation today announced that it will provide $5 million to theNational Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP) tofund college access support programs for students from low-incomecommunities across the country.

On Thursday, Oct. 27, the Senate resoundingly passed the FY 2006Labor-HHS-Education Appropriation Bill (HR 3010), which includessupport for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for UndergraduatePrograms (GEAR UP), the nation's leading federally and privatelyfunded program that helps schools and communities to improve publiceducation and provide youth from low-income communities to becomecollege-ready and successful in postsecondary education. The Housevoted to approve its version of the bill in June, and the proposedbudget is expected to be passed into law. As a result, in 2006, GEARUP will continue to expand education opportunities for approximately1.5 million low-income middle and high school students in the U.S. andits territories.

"NCCEP is deeply grateful to members of Congress for recognizingGEAR UP's early impact in our nation's schools and communities, inmaintaining its promise to making higher education a reality forfuture generations of students," said Dr. Hector Garza, president ofNCCEP. "We are also very pleased to renew our partnership with the SBCFoundation, whose support has already helped thousands of students --and will now help even more deserving students."

The SBC Foundation grant to NCCEP will support GEAR UP grantees byfunding after-school and summer enrichment programs in math, science,reading and technological literacy, as well as help teachers andstudents use technology in the classroom to enhance the teaching andlearning functions and improve students' academic performance. Thegrant also funds the enhancement of a national evaluation framework ofthe GEAR UP program.

With the grant, the SBC Foundation -- the largest corporatesupporter of the public/private GEAR UP partnership -- brings itstotal philanthropic commitment to $10 million in support of improvinglow-income college access through GEAR UP programs.

"SBC applauds members of Congress for continuing to makeeducational access for low-income students a budgetary priority," saidForrest Miller, group president-External Affairs and Planning. "SBCbelieves that all students can achieve educational success given theright tools, and we recognize GEAR UP's proven success in puttingstudents on a college trajectory. Improving educational opportunitiesthrough technology -- highlighted by innovative public/privateapproaches, like the GEAR UP model -- remains our number one fundingpriority."

GEAR UP, enacted as a result of Congress' passage of the HigherEducation Amendment of 1998, encourages students to stay in school andenroll in a rigorous course of study that will prepare them to becomecollege-ready and competitive in the university admissions process.The program currently serves 1.5 million students nationwide, and morethan 2,000 organizations currently participate in GEAR UP. GEAR UPpartnerships typically consist of collaborations between publicschools or districts, universities, community colleges, community andparent groups and businesses.

In 2004, the SBC Foundation provided $5 million in funding thatsupported 79 collaboratives across the U.S., directly impacting morethan 325,000 low-income students. Under the program, 60 grants weremade to existing GEAR UP partnerships to support a variety ofcommunity-focused education initiatives, including after-schoolprograms to help students in math, science, reading and technology;training and assistance for teachers in the use of technology in theclassroom; and utilizing technology in enhancing measurements ofstudent achievement and program impact. Another 19 grants were made tonew education reform communities to assist them with their partnershipdevelopment efforts.

Examples of the 2004 - 2005 grants include the University ofConnecticut GEAR UP, which launched, a Professional DevelopmentAcademy that enabled teachers in New Haven, Conn., to use software toassist students in the areas of academic achievement, collegepreparation and technology awareness. Reaching beyond the grantobjectives, they were able to repair, update and reopen four computerlabs in the school. Another 2004 grantee, the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire/Lac du Flambeau prepared students for advanced math andscience courses in high school, increased awareness about professionalmath and science careers and created a technology lab for NativeAmerican middle school students. More than 2,400 students participatedin the lab program.

Projects funded through the SBC Foundation GEAR UP initiative willbe awarded through a competitive grants program managed by NCCEP. ARequest for Proposal package is now available on the NCCEP Web site,www.edpartnerships.org, for GEAR UP grantees who meet the applicationcriteria.

Over the last 10 years, SBC Communications and the SBC Foundationhave distributed more than $206 million in grants to support newclassroom technology, after-school programs, teacher preparedness andother educational endeavors. In 2004, the SBC Foundation provided morethan $18.6 million dollars to support education initiatives across thenation. More than 40 percent of recent SBC Foundation grants helpedsupport educational programs that use new technologies to enhanceeducation. Since 1984, SBC Communications and the SBC Foundation havecontributed more than $1 billion to nonprofit organizations andaffiliates across the country.

The National Council for Community and Education Partnerships(NCCEP) serves as the national technical assistance provider, annualconference convener and voice in Washington, D.C., for the GEAR UPprogram. NCCEP, a non-profit organization committed to creating andsustaining K-16 education partnerships, works to increase academicachievement and access to higher education for economicallydisadvantaged students. By building broad-based partnerships, linkingschools and communities, developing new initiatives, supporting provenprograms, and using research findings to create successful frameworksfor action, NCCEP aims to invigorate the principle of equaleducational opportunity for all, and to help improve public educationin the United States. One of the primary objectives of NCCEP is topromote academic achievement and encourage education reform inschools, colleges and universities.

The SBC Foundation is the charitable giving arm of SBCCommunications Inc. The SBC Foundation supports efforts that enrichand strengthen diverse communities nationwide, particularly those withan emphasis on education and technology and those that benefitunderserved populations. SBC Foundation-backed programs are designedto increase access to information technologies, broaden technologytraining and professional skills development, and effectivelyintegrate new technologies to enhance education and economicdevelopment. The Foundation Center has consistently ranked the SBCFoundation among the nation's top fifteen corporate foundations. In2002, the SBC Foundation launched SBC Excelerator, a multimilliondollar competitive grants program that funds nonprofit organizationsin their efforts to digitally connect communities. For moreinformation, visit www.sbc.com/foundation.

SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC) is a Fortune 50 company whosesubsidiaries, operating under the SBC brand, provide a full range ofvoice, data, networking, e-business, directory publishing andadvertising, and related services to businesses, consumers and othertelecommunications providers. SBC holds a 60 percent ownershipinterest in Cingular Wireless, which serves more than 52 millionwireless customers. SBC companies provide high-speed DSL Internetaccess lines to more American consumers than any other provider andare among the nation's leading providers of Internet services. SBCcompanies also offer satellite TV service. Additional informationabout SBC and SBC products and services is available at www.sbc.com.