Verizon Foundation to Launch Enhanced Thinkfinity.org Web Site, Which Provides Thousands of Free Educational Resources for Teachers, Parents and Students; Announce Grant to Train Teachers
 
NEW YORK – Innovative changes, enhancements and additions to the popular Thinkfinity.org Web site will be announced at 9:30 a.m. Friday (March 7) at WNET’s Teaching & Learning Celebration at the Hilton New York, 1335 Avenue of the Americas. Thinkfinity.org provides more than 55,000 free educational and literacy resources, including K-12 lesson plans and interactive materials, to teachers, parents and students.  One of the key enhancements will be aligning Thinkfinity.org resources to meet individual state standards.

The Verizon Foundation also will announce a substantial grant to the New York Institute of Technology and the New York State Teachers Centers to train teachers throughout the state to make the most of the resources on Thinkfinity.org. Thinkfinity.org trainers will lead demonstrations of the new Thinkfinity.org. New York City teachers will discuss how Thinkfinity.org has benefited their students and simplified class preparation.
 
WHO:

• Dr. Edward Guiliano, president, New York Institute of Technology
• Ira Faber, teacher at Middle School 226, District 27
• Kathy Brown, Verizon senior vice president – public policy development and corporate responsibility
• Monica Azare, Verizon senior vice president – public policy and government affairs – New York and Connecticut
• Patrick Gaston, president, Verizon Foundation
• Michael Aubin, Sr. manager – educational technology, Verizon Foundation

WHAT: 
Thinkfinity.org relaunch, announcement of partnership with New York Institute of Technology
 
WHEN: 
9:30 a.m. – 10 a.m. (media asked to arrive by 9:15 a.m.)
 
WHERE:
Hilton New York
1335 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10019
                       
BACKGROUND: Since March 2007, the Verizon Foundation has committed more than $32 million to update and expand Thinkfinity.org and provide training to teachers. Content for Thinkfinity.org is created by 11 of the nation’s leading education and literacy organizations including the National Geographic Society, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the National Council on Economic Education and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Thinkfinity.org is aligned to national standards and is now being correlated to individual state standards.