Compaq, the Sharks Foundation and the San Jose Mercury News Team Up to Say "Reading is Cool"; Comprehensive Literacy Program Making Impact in Santa Clara County Public Elementary Schools.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 25, 1999--Compaq Computer Corporation, The Sharks Foundation, and the San Jose Mercury News have teamed-up to create READING IS COOL, a literacy program designed to encourage and reward elementary school students in Santa Clara County for their achievements in reading.

The READING IS COOL program provides teachers with a user-friendly tool in the classroom that will help raise the reading level of their students. READING IS COOL is free to all public elementary school classrooms in the county, Kindergarten through 6th grade, and all are encouraged to participate.

READING IS COOL was launched in October 1998 and has already made its way into 145 elementary schools throughout the county. Approximately 580 classrooms have signed up for READING IS COOL and more than 15,000 children will participate in the program throughout the year.

READING IS COOL incorporates several individual elements intended to teach students the importance and value of reading. Through incentive programs, 30-minute videos which feature representatives from sponsoring companies as well as Sharks players reading stories to kids, hockey-oriented newspaper activities, and monthly celebrity book readings at local Barnes and Noble Booksellers locations, the sponsoring companies support the ongoing message that reading is indeed "Cool!"

The goal of READING IS COOL is to promote literacy by rewarding individual students for reading books and improving their literacy level. Prizes are awarded to the classes and individuals who read the most books each month and who demonstrate the most improvement by the end of the school year. Rewards include READING IS COOL posters and bookmarks, field trips to San Jose Arena, and special visits from S.J. Sharkie.

"We are honored to be supporting this program," said Bill Heil, vice president and general manager, Compaq's Tandem Division. "Compaq's Tandem Division has a long history of support for education in the community and we look forward to increasing the awareness of this important program for our children."

"Reading is a cornerstone to success," said Jay Harris, chairman and CEO of the San Jose Mercury News. "The San Jose Mercury News is delighted to continue its effort to promote literacy through a unique partnership between these three companies. We are optimistic that the READING IS COOL program will have a significant impact on improving the literacy rate of students in Santa Clara County."

"The Sharks Foundation is dedicated to supporting education in Santa Clara County," said Greg Jamison, president and CEO of the San Jose Sharks. "We are proud to team up with Compaq and the San Jose Mercury News to not only support, but help improve the education of our children."

On Wednesday, Jan. 27, at 12 p.m., Compaq, The Sharks Foundation, and the San Jose Mercury News will come together at Ryan Elementary School to present READING IS COOL to the children. On hand to participate in a brief press conference and to read to the children will be Jamison, Harris, and Heil as well as executives from Compaq and the San Jose Mercury News, San Jose Sharks Players and S.J. Sharkie, the loveable mascot of the San Jose Sharks.

Teachers and parents who are interested in learning more about the READING IS COOL literacy program can call [phone] or visit the READING IS COOL Web site at www.sj-sharkie.com to register their classroom.

For additional information about the sponsoring companies go to www.compaq.com, www.sj-sharks.com, or www.mercurycenter.com.