Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 10, 2004
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136
Alt Contact:  Kahlin Kurilik, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-443-7000

Gov. Gary Locke, Microsoft Sign Key Education Partnership

Gov. Gary Locke today signed an agreement with Microsoft to work together to improve student achievement in the state, particularly among at-risk students, through the strategic use of technology. Microsoft selected Washington as the first state in the nation to participate in the company’s new U.S. Partners in Learning program. Locke announced the signing of the agreement during a speech at the Technology Alliance annual luncheon in Seattle.

The five-year agreement, signed today by the governor and Sherri Bealkowski, general manager of Microsoft public sector solutions and programs, authorizes the state of Washington to participate in Microsoft’s U.S. Partners in Learning Program, which includes a $3 million funding commitment from Microsoft to the state. The joint effort will:
· Develop a program that prepares teachers to use technology in breakthrough ways in the classroom; and
· Develop technology-rich programs to help raise student achievement with at-risk students.

“Technology has opened new doors of opportunity for our students, and has also placed a new responsibility on our educators,” Locke said. “By working with an innovator such as Microsoft we will be able to better use technology in our classrooms and develop teaching models that can be used in our state and across the nation.”

Microsoft’s U.S. Partners in Learning program will invest a total $35 million during the next five years in select states to develop projects that combine teaching and technology in innovative ways to serve as blueprints and models for other education institutions.

“The education of tomorrow demands that we innovate today and invest in the community effort that is education,” Bealkowski said. “U.S. Partners in Learning is a long-term commitment from Microsoft to partner with state governments, local schools, teachers and partners, establishing a sustainable foundation for continued advances in education and learning.”

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