The U S WEST Foundation has awarded a $27,000 grant to support technology integration into South Dakota's Catholic schools education system.

The financial gift is part of the U S WEST Foundation's education outreach initiative, which supports programs that help bridge the "Digital Divide" by providing people with technology and training on the use of that technology.

Larry Toll, U S WEST vice president, presented the $27,000 grant today to Bishop Robert Carlson and Sister Nathalie Meyer.

"Helping keep people connected in ways that help them improve their lives is the core of U S WEST," reported Toll. "This U S WEST Foundation grant was awarded to help Catholic Schools of South Dakota achieve their goal to make life better by improving students', educators' and school administrators' access to information and a multitude of education resources."

The Catholic Schools of South Dakota include 24 elementary schools, six junior high schools and six senior high schools in 20 communities. Bishop Carlson said that, with great distances between schools, information technology is an essential part of education. It allows schools with limited resources to share academic and administrative resources that they may otherwise not have access to.

"In order to insure cost-effective results-oriented integration of technology into our Catholic Schools education system, careful planning with staff and seasoned professional consultants in information technology is a top priority," Bishop Carlson said. "U S WEST's grant will enable us to create a sound technology plan that will meet the diverse needs of school-age children, teachers, administrators, and adult learners in all of our schools and parishes."

Work will begin in August on development of an inventory tool to assess staff knowledge and use of technology in all Catholic schools in South Dakota. An inventory of all hardware and software systems also will be conducted. The Catholic Schools of South Dakota technology plan will be developed from the inventories and review workshops with school staff.

The U S WEST Foundation is one of the largest corporate foundations in the United States, investing more than $22 million annually in education grants, outreach to families and children, support for small business development and technology access training. Since 1995, the U S WEST Foundation has awarded more than $2 million in grants and contributions to nonprofit organizations in South Dakota.

About U S WEST
U S WEST (NYSE: USW) is a leading broadband and communications service provider, with more than $13 billion in annual revenues. U S WEST leads the industry in deploying next-generation broadband ADSL and VDSL Internet access and data/video services; offers the nation's first and only 'one-number' advanced wireless service that integrates customers' home or business phones with their wireless PCS; and provides multimedia advertising services, including Internet and print directories. The company has nearly 2 million miles of deployed fiber in the U.S., provides local exchange services to more than 25 million customers in 14 states, and provides wireless services to more than 500,000 customers and data services to more than 800,000 customers nationally.

U S WEST is merging with Qwest Communications International Inc. The combination, to be named Qwest Communications International Inc., will create a communications powerhouse with a market capitalization of more than $70 billion, headquartered in Denver and employing about 64,000 people worldwide. U S WEST and Qwest will unite the nation's most innovative local, wireless and broadband communications firm with one of the world's most advanced fiber-optic networks and broadband Internet providers. Together, the two firms will have more than 3 million miles of deployed fiber in the U.S. and worldwide, 29 million customers and a local network that is 99.2 percent digitally switched. For more information about U S WEST, go to http://www.uswest.com.

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