By Joan Crigger
February 9, 2004

Larry Geller, Director of Education Programs at 3Com Corporation, announced the winners of the latest round of Urban Challenge Grant awards to five cities for $100,000 each in 3Com goods and services January 22 at the Conference's 72nd Annual Winter Meeting.

The winners are: Braintree (MA) Mayor Timothy Egan, Erie (PA) Mayor Richard E. Filippi, Grand Junction (CO) Mayor Jim Spehar, Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey, and Utica (NY) Mayor Timothy J. Julian. With these awards, 3Com has committed $5.1M to the Urban Challenge program.

"Students at every level should have access to the best technology possible to further their education," said Conference President Hempstead (NY) Mayor James A. Garner. "Unfortunately, the reality of the digital divide still challenges many communities. These grants will help close the gap."

Working in partnership with the Conference of Mayors, 3Com's Urban Challenge was first announced in July 1999. The program helps bridge the digital divide by working directly with mayors who are committed to integrating technology into the fabric of their communities to increase access to educational programs, job-training, health care and other municipal services.

"The Urban Challenge program represents 3Com's commitment to help communities across the U.S. integrate technology into their school systems," said Mr. Geller. "We are determined to help bridge the digital divide existing in this country, allowing children to have the tools for success in the Digital Economy and help the cities give every student an equal opportunity for a brighter future through technology."

The new 3Com Urban Challenge Winners are:

Braintree, MA — Mayor Timothy G. Egan

The Town of Braintree, MA, led by Chairman of the Board of Selectmen Timothy G. Egan and Braintree Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Peter A. Kurzberg, is meeting the challenges of the federal "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) Act with the grant award to upgrade its schools' computer networks that support teaching, learning and student record keeping.

Erie, PA — Mayor Richard E. Filippi

The Erie City School District, led by Superintendent Dr. James E. Barker and the City of Erie, PA, are better preparing the city's students for academic and professional success using the grant award to extend Erie's participation in Project Portal/Erie-WINS (Erie-Wide Area Information Network System). This initiative will connect 21 schools, the city's technology center and administrative and service offices in a powerful, fiber optic network. Each networked site will utilize a full gigabit of bandwidth to distribute voice, data and video applications to all classrooms and offices within the school district.

Grand Junction, CO — Mayor Jim Spehar

Mesa County Valley School District 51, led by Superintendent Dr. Tim Mills, is using the grant award to provide a strong network infrastructure to support the ParentBridge Project. ParentBridge is a web-based system that provides pertinent, student-centered information to parents, teachers and students via a secure web connection that serves more than 20,000 students and their families.

Omaha, NE — Mayor Mike Fahey

The City of Omaha, NE in cooperation with the Millard Public Schools is using the grant award from 3Com's Urban Challenge program to complete Project WIN, a major initiative designed to create a Wireless Instructional Network (WIN) for Millard's schools. Omaha educators can now provide students and teachers with faster, more productive use of online resources and curricula — Project WIN's foremost objectives.

Utica, NY — Mayor Timothy J. Julian

The Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES in partnership with the City of Utica is dramatically expanding its computer-based learning curricula with the grant award. The Utica City School District will deploy 3Com wireless access points at Utica's Proctor High School, which it is currently renovating and expanding, enabling the school to broaden students' use of advanced academic applications.