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January 26, 2004
SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR JOEL I. KLEIN, STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS CHIEF EXECUTIVE CAROLINE KENNEDY, AND
INFINITY BROADCASTING CEO & CHAIRMAN JOHN SYKES ANNOUNCE LAUNCH OF ADOPT A SCHOOL - KIDS ARE EVERYONE'S BUSINESS
NEW YORK CITY
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
JOEL I. KLEIN,
CHANCELLOR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
N-29, 2003-04
January 26, 2004
Infinity Radio Stations Adopt a
School in Each Borough, Launch Campaign to Increase Business Support of Schools;
DOE and PENCIL to Work Together on
Business-School Partnerships
Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein,
Chief Executive of the Office of Strategic Partnerships Caroline Kennedy, and
Infinity Broadcasting (Infinity) Chairman and CEO John Sykes today announced
Adopt A School - Kids Are Everyone's Business, a new partnership aimed at
increasing private support for New York City's public schools.
Infinity will adopt a public school in each
of the five boroughs and promote supporting businesses on the air and its radio
stations' websites as part of the new initiative.
The Office of Strategic Partnerships and
PENCIL will coordinate the program and support the partnerships between public
schools and businesses, with all New York City Infinity radio stations working
directly with the schools.
Participating
Infinity radio stations include 1010 WINS, MIX 102.7 FM, WCBS Newsradio 880,
WFAN Sports Radio 66, WCBS 101.1 FM, and 92.3 K-Rock.
United States Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton,
New York Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury, hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, BET's 106th
and Park Co-host Free, and PENCIL President Ruth Cohen joined Chancellor Klein
for the announcement.
"I'm very
grateful to Infinity for helping us spread the word that the students of New York City truly are
everyone's business," Chancellor Klein said.
"Our Children First reforms are intended to ensure that all of our
students receive the quality education that they need and deserve, and that
each of our 1,200 schools is capable of providing students with an excellent
education.
Programs like Adopt A School
can help in the effort to dramatically improve public education in our City by
motivating the business community to involve their employees in a rewarding
experience that will enrich the academic lives of our students and better
prepare them for the future."
The Adopt A
School - Kids Are Everyone's Business program requires a business to become
involved with an individual school for at least one full academic year. As part
of the commitment, a business must contribute at least five hours per week of
employee volunteer time in a school, host one school-based event, and make a
minimum financial or in-kind investment of $10,000 based on goals that the
school and business work together to develop.
"Many businesses and individuals
throughout our City are already closely involved with individual schools," Ms.
Kennedy said.
"We thank them for their
ongoing support, but too many of our schools don't have business partners.
Infinity's commitment to these schools and to
on-air promotion of Adopt A School will bring a new level of visibility and
help us recruit partners for all our schools.
I want to personally thank Infinity CEO John Sykes for his vision and
energy in starting this program and all the radio station employees who will be
in our schools working with our students, teachers, and principals."
The
Infinity radio stations have teamed with six New York City public schools and the stations
have worked closely with school principals to develop partnerships that meet
school needs and take advantage of the stations' management and broadcast
experience.
"Our public school children are the
future of New York City
- they are our future employees, our customers, and our neighbors," Mr. Sykes
said.
"We want to send a message to all New York City businesses
that a little bit of time and help can go a long way in improving our schools."
Through an extensive PSA campaign,
the Infinity stations will promote Adopt A School on their airwaves.
In addition, businesses that register for the
program and commit to working with a school for a full year, will receive
on-air recognition on the six Infinity stations.
The goal of the program is to expand the
number of businesses that are closely involved with the City's 1,200
schools.
Successful business
partnerships in schools include: employees volunteering as tutors and mentors;
financial donations to support needs such as libraries, playgrounds, and school
programs; internships and career days; and business leaders working one-on-one
with school principals.
"We are excited to work together
with PENCIL to support this initiative," said Ms. Kennedy.
"PENCIL's Principal for A Day program and the
many partnerships already in place demonstrate how businesses can help schools.
Now we have the opportunity to build more
partnerships together, with the added support of the radio stations' on air
promotion."
Businesses interested in adopting a
school can log onto www.fundforpublicschools.org/adoptaschool
or the websites of PENCIL (www.pencil.org)
or any of the Infinity radio stations (see list below).
Businesses are required to fill out an
application and will be matched with appropriate schools.
The Department of Education and PENCIL will
work with the business and school to develop a plan and program that best
supports academic achievement in the school.
Individuals and businesses interested in participating in Principal for
A Day on March 31, 2004, can log onto www.pencil.org.
Businesses interested in supporting schools
can log onto www.fundforpublicschools.org
for a listing of other volunteer organizations.
Donations to the public schools can also be made at www.fundforpublicschools.org.
Partnership Details
- 1010
WINS will launch a new radio broadcasting program at the High School of Environmental
Studies in Manhattan.
This school had a radio broadcasting
facility that over time fell behind in technology and use.
WINS will help to fund an upgrade of
that facility and will tutor students in real world news radio production
and journalism.
- MIX
102.7 FM will adopt Curtis High School in Staten
Island in support of its music arts program.
MIX General Manager Marie Mason has
pledged to launch a benefit concert at the Staten Island Yankees Stadium
which will benefit the school's extensive jazz and orchestral music program,
provide new instruments for the school, and support other arts programs.
Students and staff will work directly with station personnel on all
aspects of the program.
- WCBS
Newsradio 880 will pair with the Bronx Collaborative High School of
Technology on the Morris
High School
campus.
WCBS will create
opportunities to introduce students and teachers to the world of radio
broadcasting from production to investigative journalism.
Students will visit the WCBS radio
station and receive one-on-one coaching on communication and writing
skills and mentoring for career opportunities.
- WFAN
Sports Radio 660 AM will partner with P.S. 166 in Astoria,
Queens. The station's efforts in the
school will focus on enhancements to the school library and literacy programs.
- WCBS
101.1 FM employees will be traveling to downtown Brooklyn to work with
students at the Brooklyn
High School for the
Arts.
- 92.3
K-ROCK will create a new speakers program for high school students called
"Careers in Radio," which will introduce the fields of artist management,
recording and broadcasting, finance, and promotion. In addition, the
station will invite a select group of students to participate in tours at
the radio station.
K-ROCK has
enlisted the support of the Guitar
Center, the nation's
leading retailer of guitars, amplifiers, and recording equipment, to
donate up to $20,000 of musical equipment and instruments to the schools
that the station will work with over the next year.
- Infinity's
headquarters staff will visit PS 28 in the Bronx,
the alma mater of Infinity's President and Chief Operating Officer Joel
Hollander, to work directly with students and support a book drive for the
school's library.
Contact:
Jerry
Russo / Michele McManus (DOE)
212-374-5141
Karen Mateo
(Infinity)
212-846-7880
Ruth Cohen
(PENCIL)
646-638-0565
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MEDIA CONTACTS
Karen L. Mateo
Vice President, Communications
(212) 649 9639
Allison Mandara
Communications Coordinator
(212) 649 9606
Dana McClintock
Senior Vice President,
CBS Communications Group
(212) 975 1077
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