6.05.2007 - 11:59pm ET

(CSRwire) Alexandria, VA - June 5, 2007 - NEF is on an urgent mission, since our students are falling further behind their counterparts in India, China, Europe, etc. See the National Academies report chaired by former Lockheed Chairman Norman Augustine to comprehend the serious predicament our students are in! In order to maintain our economic and technological leadership, we must produce an effective 21st Century workforce. This is in the best interest of our corporations and our Nation.

National Education Foundation, the national nonprofit leader in bridging the digital and academic divides through the most cost-effective, proven, integrated digital education solution, is committed to improving the math, IT and business skills of a million students in the Nation’s disadvantaged schools during the school year 2007-08. The definition of disadvantaged schools is the same used by the U.S. Department of Education, that is, schools with 35% or more students participating in the free or reduced lunch program. Nearly 60% of all public schools in the U.S. fall into this category.

The program seeks corporate partners to sponsor students in these schools for just 10% of the total cost. Corporations can sponsor one or more schools or school districts of interest to them anywhere in the Nation for $60 per student. NEF works with the individual schools to design an integrated program based on each school’s needs, and provides online Web-based high quality courses in Math, Business (including PMP certification) and IT (including 60 certifications in Microsoft, Cisco, CompTia, Oracle, etc.), 24x7 live instant online/onsite mentoring, teacher stipends and student rewards. This is a real win-win-win program for all involved, especially for you and your students!

The ongoing pilot program set up at Collier County Public School District in Florida has resulted in 25% improvement in student scores, significant reduction in dropout rates especially among the at-risk students as well as increase in college-bound and employment-bound students for the 2007-08 school year. See www.cyberlearning.org/colliervideo for information.

Online applications are available June 1, 2007 at www.cyberlearning.org/sponsors. Applications will be accepted through July 31, 2007, with CyberLearning Academy grants awarded to schools chosen by the corporate sponsors by August 31, 2007. Any corporation or corporate foundation interested in improving the K-12 math, IT and business education in the schools of interest to them can apply to become a sponsor.

Sponsor benefits include tax deductibility, better prepared employees, enormous PR opportunity and community recognition, your corporate name in the CyberLearning Academy banner and press materials at schools, invitations to inauguration and award ceremonies, stretching corporate sponsorship dollars ten-fold, the opportunity to offer specific online courses of interest to sponsors such as Banking 101, and recognition for corporate responsibility. Of course, the most important benefit is the satisfaction of making a difference in the lives of thousands of our disadvantaged students and helping our Nation in maintaining its economic and technological leadership.

About Cyberlearning

CyberLearning is a project of the non-profit 501(c)(3) National Education Foundation founded in 1989 to provide effective and affordable training for everyone, especially the disadvantaged, in information technology, business, math and test-prep skills. Since 1994, CyberLearning has trained over 500,000 students in U.S. schools. In 2006, CyberLearning received the Global Digital Literacy Champion Award given to the organization that contributed most to digital literacy in the World. CyberLearning's recent publications include the acclaimed books "From Digital Divide to Digital Opportunity" and "Lessons For Tomorrow, Bringing America's Schools Back From The Brink," authored by CyberLearning CEO, advisor to World leaders and globally acclaimed management and education systems expert Dr. Appu Kuttan and CyberLearning VPs Dr. Laurence Peters and Ned Davis.

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