NYNEX Advances Educational Initiative to Prepare Classrooms of the Future with $1.5 Million in Grants; 25% Increase over 1996 Funds.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 30, 1997--The NYNEX Foundation announced that it would continue its Excellence in Education initiative by providing $1.5 million in grants to schools and non-profit educational organizations for programs and collaborative projects that utilize technology and telecommunications as effective tools for teaching and learning.

Private and public colleges and universities, as well as schools and non-profit educational organizations involved in programs for students in grades 7 to 12, that are located in the NYNEX region, are eligible to compete for the grants. Winners will receive awards ranging from $5,000 to $100,000.

"The integration of technology with classroom instruction is a long-term process," said Suzanne DuBose, president of the NYNEX Foundation. "We are proud to heighten our support of the Excellence in Education initiative to facilitate this process and evolve the classrooms of the future."

Now in its fifth year, the NYNEX initiative has funded educational projects that enhance the technical skills of students and teachers to access information and, ultimately, increase the students ability to compete in a global market. In 1996, NYNEX funded 68 Excellence in Education projects in New York and New England. Some of the institutions funded in 1996 include:

-- Long Island University-CW Post campus in Brookville, NY, for its project the "Electronic Educational Village;"

-- Cornell University for the management of the electronic "Invisible College," an on-line continuing education forum for science teachers;

-- Governor Baxter School for the Deaf in Portland, ME, to support a network for deaf students;

-- Earthwatch in Watertown, MA, for the project "Designing Multi-Media Case Studies for Networked Schools;" and,

-- Academy of Applied Science in Concord, NH, to deploy internet and world wide web technology throughout seven area school districts of the Central New Hampshire Educational Collaborative.

The program targets projects that utilize technologies in collaboration" with the community or other partners, and demonstrate a commitment to rethink curriculum, instructional practices, and student participation in the process of learning.

The 1997 program has been funded by the NYNEX Foundation at a level 25% higher than its 1996 budget. There will be two categories of grants this year: six "leadership grants" -- four at $100,000 and two at $50,000 -- will be awarded over a two-year period, and one-year "innovation grants" ranging from $5,000 to $25,000. The program is open, for the first time this year, to public schools or districts and similar organizations that qualify as governmental entities.

Proposals from interested organizations must be hand-delivered or postmarked by March 3, 1997, to:

Ms. Frances McDonald Program Director, Education Grants NYNEX Foundation 1095 Avenue of the Americas, Room 3200 New York, NY 10036

For more information, contact Ms. McDonald at 1-800-360-7955 or visit the NYNEX website at http://www.nynex.com.

The NYNEX Foundation administers all domestic and international philanthropic grants on behalf of NYNEX. Nearly fifty percent of its 1997 budget of $24.6 million is dedicated to support innovative strategies that will enhance the education of children living in New York and New England. In addition, the Foundation provides grants in the areas of health & human services, arts & culture and civic and community alliances.

NYNEX is a global communications and media corporation that provides a full range of services in the northeastern United States and high-growth markets around the world, including the United Kingdom, Thailand, Gibraltar, Greece, Indonesia, the Philippines, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The corporation is a leader in telecommunications, wireless communications, directory publishing and video entertainment and information services. NYNEX is also managing sponsor of FLAG -- Fiberoptic Link Around the Globe -- the world's longest undersea fiber optic communications cable.

CONTACT: Roy Cosme [phone]