Data General earns high marks for designing new Internet-ready technology lab at Worcester North High School.

WORCESTER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 28, 1997--

Data General, School Partner In Major

Private-Sector/Education Project

Data General Corporation today announced the establishment of a new Internet-ready computer Technology Lab at Worcester North High School (WNHS). In line with Colin Powell's recent "call" for cooperation between the private sector and education, WNHS students now will have the resources and training to prepare them for life in an increasingly high-tech world. Overall, 900 students and 60 faculty members will benefit from Data General's contributions.

The lab is made possible by the donation of approximately $400,000.00 worth of computer equipment as well as over 1,000 hours of volunteer time from Data General employees. In addition to providing the equipment, Data General assisted with the networking of the lab, the training of the staff, and will provide service and support.

At a ribbon cutting ceremony held today at the school, Worcester North High School Principal Bob Boule said, "The Technology Lab is a unique and revolutionary addition to our school. As a result, the teachers and students are more computer-literate, have more practical, real-world skills and are more prepared for the future. We express our deepest thanks to Data General for its generous donations. Data General is truly in synch with the nation's leaders who are calling for corporations to help our children as volunteers, teachers and guides. We look forward to being partners with Data General for many years."

Data General President and Chief Executive Officer Ronald L. Skates said, "For the last two years, more than 40 of our engineers and other employees have worked closely with the WNHS staff and students to develop this Technology Lab and to bring the school online. Data General employees, in effect, have 'adopted' Worcester North. We are proud to have the opportunity to share our computer skills and resources with them."

Kathleen Rentsch of the Alliance for Education added, "The partnership between Data General and North High School is an outstanding example of why these relationships are so necessary and how they can work effectively. I am impressed by the depth of commitment Data General has made to the students and the faculty. The staff at North High School has done a fine job of working with the company to direct their expertise so as to complement and support their school improvement strategy."

Following is a list of Data General's initiatives related to the WNHS Technology Lab:

Donation of Equipment and Service

-- Donation of 25 Pentium Pro PCs (Pentium 200s, including, multimedia, CD-ROM and soundcards) and AViiON Cluster-in-a-Box system.

-- Donation of 20 laptops to teachers for teaching word processing, graphics and accounting software applications.

-- Development of a WNHS Web site.

-- Full service, support and maintenance of the Technology Lab with remote networking support.

Classroom Visitations and Instruction by Data General Volunteers

-- Over 40 Data General volunteers donated over 1,000 hours instructing students, teachers and wiring the Library and Technology Lab.

-- Data General engineers worked with six WNHS students during the summer of 1996 to install computer systems and Internet gateways at WNHS.

-- Project Bread and Butter: 10 students identified as motivated but experiencing difficulties in math or science were tutored by a Data General computer engineer every day after school.

-- Free computer training seminars were held at Data General's offices in Westboro for 60 faculty members, including workshops on the Internet, multimedia and word processing. Over 50 percent of the faculty received credits in Computer Training offered by Data General.

-- Data General executives and engineers have visited WNHS classes to conduct presentations on computer technology and engineering careers. Student field trips have been made to Data General's campus and labs in Westboro

-- Data General and WNHS faculty developed a technology curriculum for the students making the school the most advanced in the entire Worcester school district.

Data General will continue its support of school programs at WNHS, such as summer internships and mentor programs. Beginning in Fall 1997, students will be involved in a two-year program working with the latest software programs to develop "real world skills" for college and the corporate world. In addition, students will learn networking and Internet skills. This represents an exclusive curriculum developed by Data General and WNHS.

As part of the ceremony, Skates and Boule also awarded two WNHS students with $2,000 college scholarships donated by Data General.

Data General (NYSE:DGN), based in Westboro, Massachusetts, specializes in servers, storage systems and related software and services for customers worldwide. The company reported revenues of $1.3 billion during fiscal 1996. Additional information on the company, its products, and services is available on the Internet at http://www.dg.com -0-

AViiON and Cluster-in-a-Box are registered trademarks of Data General. All other brand names and product names referenced in this press release are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

CONTACT: Data General Corp. Brodeur Porter Novelli 

Jim Dunlap Gina Rezendes

508/898-6546 617/587-2839

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