Group to launch education program clearinghouse

The American Electronics Association will launch an online clearinghouse

to compile all the national data on educational projects sponsored by high-tech

companies as well as the impact those programs have on students and workers.

Anecdotal information shows that U.S. high-tech companies do more for education

reform than any other industry, but the data to demonstrate that is not

being properly collected and distributed, according to AEA president and

chief executive officer William Archey. The AEA, (www.aeanet.org) is a national

high-tech trade association.

The AEA receives hundreds of inquiries each year from parties interested

in educational programs sponsored and established by technology firms, and

how they can adopt them. The Web-based clearinghouse, called the National

Clearinghouse for High-Technology Education Initiatives, will enable the

AEA to respond to the queries with specific information from locations across

the country, while also demonstrating to policy officials the large investments

being made by technology companies, Archey said.

"Many of these programs are having a very salutary effect on student and

teacher performance but will not be replicated because teachers, administrators,

local governments and indeed other companies are not aware of these programs,"

Archey said in a release. "Also, there has been no single source of data

on the financial investments American technology firms are making in seeking

to improve our schools and universities and the skills of the American work

force."

Fundraising for the project, which is expected to cost $500,000 in each

of its first two years, has just begun. But Intel Corp. and Texas Instruments

Inc. have donated $25,000 apiece for each of the initial two years.