City of Seattle NOTE: This news release has been retained for historical use ONLY!  While the text was accurate at the date of the release, the contact information may be out of date.

NEWS ADVISORY
SUBJECT:   Mayor Schell announces multimillion dollar technology literacy initiative
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:    9/28/2000	FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Daria Cal (206) 386-4105 David Keyes (206) 386-9759 Katherine Schubert-Knapp  (206) 684-0909

Mayor Schell announces technology literacy initiative worth millions
Seattle Community Technology Alliance
and corporate partners step forward

SEATTLE — Today Mayor Paul Schell and City Librarian Deborah L. Jacobs announced a multimillion dollar technology literacy initiative aimed at closing the digital divide with the help of the Seattle Community Technology Alliance (SCTA) and several corporate partners.

The initiative has two main thrusts: to improve family literacy by strengthening services at community technology centers and to develop a network of public Internet access sites across the city.

Focusing on low-income and technology-under-served communities, AT&T, Microsoft, Cisco and Gateway are teaming up with the city of Seattle and other Alliance partners to ensure technology and educational opportunities are available for Seattle’s under-served communities. Specifically:

• AT&T will contribute $1.2 million dollars over three years for broadband Internet services and equipment. Through this pledge, 500 cable modems and AT&T’s @Home services will be installed at community centers and organizations willing to offer public access to the Internet;
• Microsoft will contribute more than $200,000 in software;
• Cisco Systems will contribute $84,000 in equipment and technical assistance; and
• Gateway is making discounted hardware and technical assistance available to community technology centers, which at last count amounted to $18,000.

"The City of Seattle’s 1999 Citywide Residential Survey showed significant difference in access to computers and the Internet for different income groups," Mayor Schell said. "We want to ensure all our residents have the skills and access to prosper in our technology-enhanced economy. Thanks to our corporate citizens and the SCTA partners, as well as other efforts under way throughout the city, we’re on our way."

"The Seattle Community Technology Alliance was created to link low-income and disadvantaged people to technology resources that increase their opportunities for lifelong learning," Jacobs said. "Thanks to a $300,000 grant from the Department of Education and the coordinated effort of our community and corporate partners, we will move a step closer to creating sustainable centers and a more technology healthy city."

Community technology centers are located in community centers, housing projects, schools and social service agencies. They offer a variety of programs, including after-school activities, adult and family literacy opportunities, career development and job preparation, and small business activities.

"I started working at the Chinese Information Service Center as a volunteer. In the beginning, I wanted to help immigrant children with their homework," Chinese Information and Service Center Lab Coordinator Karia Wong said. "I realized they needed to use computers to get their homework done. Almost 90 percent of them had never used computers before. After training children, I started training adults. By providing the computer training, I feel like I am not only helping people, but also changing their lives."

The Seattle Community Technology Alliance aims to improve the impact, effectiveness and sustainability of these centers. This summer, the SCTA hired and trained teenagers to build and maintain the computer labs. Seven sites have been targeted initially. These include Garfield Community Center, Chinese Information and Service Center, Orca and Muir Elementary Schools, NewHolly Neighborhood Campus, South Park Community Center, and Yesler Terrace.

The Seattle Community Technology Alliance is a collaborative effort of the Seattle Public Library (SPL), Seattle’s Department of Information Technology, Seattle Public Schools, Connect, the Chinese Information and Service Center, the Women’s Community Impact Consortium, Powerful Schools, the Seattle Housing Authority, Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, Seattle Community College District, and corporate partners AT&T, Microsoft, CISCO Systems and Gateway. The Seattle Public Library acts as fiscal and administrative agent for the Alliance, managing grant funds and coordination.

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Community technology centers offer a variety of programs, including after-school activities, adult and family literacy opportunities, and career development and job preparation. The Seattle Community Technology Alliance aims to improve the impact, effectiveness and sustainability of these centers. Seven sites in low-income and technology-under-served communities have been targeted initially.

• Chinese Information and Service Center
  Located in Seattle’s International District, the Chinese Information and Service Center has served low-income, limited and non-English speaking Asian newcomers to the Seattle area for 27 years. CISC serves more than 3,000 individuals annually, from more than a dozen language and cultural groups.
  Coordinator: Karia Wong, (206)624-4062
  Street Address: 409 Maynard Ave. S.
  
• Garfield Community Center
  Located in the heart of Seattle’s Central District; the Garfield Community Center serves a highly diverse but very low-income population, offering community resource information, cultural enrichment programs, summer day camp and youth programs.
  Coordinator: Kara Luna, (206) 684-4788
  Street Address: 2323 E. Cherry St.
  
• Powerful Schools
  Located at John Muir and Orca Elementary Schools in Seattle’s Rainier Valley, Powerful Schools combines its expertise in education and volunteerism with its successful experience operating the Grassroots Technology Program (which provides training and computer ownership to families) to improve children’s academic achievement and strengthen families and community in the most racially and economically diverse area of the city.
  Coordinator: Irene Woo, (206) 722-5543
  Street Address: 3301 S. Horton
  
• NewHolly Neighborhood Campus
  Part of the SHA Campus of Learners project, located in Southeast Seattle, the NewHolly Neighborhood Campus serves a mixed public and private housing community with very-low-income to moderate-income families. A high proportion of local residents are limited English speaking and recent immigrants. The CTC will be integrated in the Learning Center which also includes a Career Development Center, a branch campus of South Seattle Community College, a Seattle Public Library Branch, a Small Business Development Center and a Youth Tutoring Program.
  Coordinator: Jim Buschhoff, (206) 721-1802
  Street Address: 7058 32nd Ave. S.
  
• South Park Community Center
  Located in Southwest Seattle, South Park Community Center serves a low-income neighborhood that is also geographically isolated from other communities in the city. The South Park CTC currently offers limited after-school programming for middle and high school students.
  Coordinator: Michelle Mannings, (206)762-7780
  Street Address: 8319 Eighth Ave. S.
  
• Yesler Terrace Community Center
  Located in the Yesler Terrace Garden Community, an SHA public housing development, Yesler Terrace Community Center serves a resident population of very-low-income that is highly culturally diverse, and includes a high proportion of recent immigrants and limited English speaking people. The Yesler Terrace CTC is adjacent to the community recreational center, a youth tutoring program, Horn of Africa Services offering refugee services, and the Yesler Terrace Community Health Clinic. No other publicly accessible technology sites are currently located in this neighborhood.
  Coordinator: Asfaha Lemlem, (206) 386-1245
  Street Address: 835 Yesler Way

• After graduating from Highline Community College, Kara Luna wanted to fulfill her passion of reaching out to inner city youth and helping them succeed. Her computer experience provided an avenue. Luna is now the lab coordinator for Garfield Community Center. "When I was made aware of the position as a computer lab coordinator at Garfield Community Center, I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to help where I’ve always wanted to help. So here I am with the Seattle Community Technology Alliance reaching out to kids and hopefully helping them succeed beyond their highest dreams," says Kara Luna, Garfield Lab Coordinator. For more information, contact Kara Luna at (206)684-4788.

• A single mom with three children works full-time as a tailor and would like to start her own e-business. She attends computer classes at the Chinese Information and Service Center to upgrade her technical skills. She also talked with a CISC employment counselor to seek possible business opportunities. For more information, contact Karia Wong at (206)624-4062.
• An elderly woman feels she is less home-bound after she learned how to use the Internet at the Chinese Information and Service Center. She can read a Chinese newspaper online and contact her daughter in Taiwan. For more information, contact Karia Wong at (206)624-4062.

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Citizen's Technology and Literacy Access

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