CenturyLink Minnesota

EL COLEGIO CHARTER SCHOOL TEACHER, CHAD DAVIDSON, RECEIVES 2008 QWEST FOUNDATION TEACHERS AND TECHNOLOGY GRANT

CenturyLink and Minnesota Business Partnership Present Nearly $100,000 in Grants to Minnesota Public School Teachers Who are Finding Innovative Ways to Use Technology to Help Students Learn

MINNEAPOLIS, May 5, 2008 – The CenturyLink Foundation and the Minnesota Business Partnership (MBP) today presented  El Colegio Charter School teacher,  Chad Davidson, with a $7, 500 CenturyLink Teachers and Technology grant for his “Minneapolis Water Quality Study” grant proposal.

The grant will enable El Colegio to purchase the scientific equipment needed to examine water quality including a PASCO Lab Sensor Bundle.

"We received outstanding applications from public school teachers across the state," said John Stanoch, Minnesota president of CenturyLink. "Our Blue Ribbon Panel was particularly impressed with this proposal to have students research water quality issues, examine the City of Minneapolis' water quality and then present their findings to public officials."

El Colegio students will collect and analyze water quality data from a variety of sources in South Minneapolis – including lakes, streams, standing water and drinking water. They will test hypotheses and make recommendations to city officials related to water quality.

“Getting students excited about math and technology is extremely important to Minnesota’s future,” said Charlie Weaver, executive director of the Minnesota Business Partnership. “We were excited about working with CenturyLink to encourage and reward teachers who are using technology to spark that excitement.”

Davidson is one of 15 Minnesota public school teachers to receive a 2008 CenturyLink Foundation Teachers and Technology Grant, which is administered by the Minnesota Business Partnership Education Foundation. The grants are being presented individually to the recipients in their schools over the next few weeks.

Now in its second year, the CenturyLink Teachers and Technology Grant Program received applications from more than 60 public school teachers around the state. A Blue Ribbon Panel selected 15 of those proposals to receive grants this year totaling $96,000.