FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 2, 2011

CONTACT: John Schuster
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
305-995-1126

School Board officials, Orchard Villa Elementary School staff, parents, students and interested community members

IBM Donates Early Learning Technology to Inspire Young Students

Tuesday, June 7, 2011
10 a.m.          

Orchard Villa Elementary
5720 N.W. 13th Avenue, Room 131 (VPK Classroom)
Miami, FL 33142

Miami-Dade County Public Schools will receive a grant from IBM for its pre-school programs, targeting children between the ages of four and seven as part of IBM’s KidSmart program.  IBM developed this program in 1998 to help reduce the digital divide, especially in urban areas, where it was becoming apparent that children from less affluent backgrounds needed access to specialized technology tools and educational materials to better prepare them to enter school. Since the inception of KidSmart, IBM has donated more than 50,000 computers to schools and nonprofit organizations in 60 countries, serving more than 10 million students and 100,000 teachers.