In the wake of the accounting scandal that threatens to push telecommunications giant WorldCom Inc. into bankruptcy, educators are bracing for a ripple effect that is sure to be felt by their schools.

Besides shaking the faith of school customers in WorldCom, the nation's No. 2 long-distance provider, as well as investors' faith in corporate America at large, the scandal also threatens to derail WorldCom's considerable support for school technology programsincluding an initiative that reportedly trains some 10,000 teachers per month how to use the internet in their classrooms.

The company operates a free, standards-based web site called MarcoPolo, which it created in conjunction with leading content experts such as National Geographic and the Kennedy Center's ArtsEdge project. MarcoPolo's online resources now include panel-reviewed links to top internet sites in many disciplines, professionally developed lesson plans, classroom activities, materials to help with daily classroom planning, and powerful search engines.

WorldCom also offers free professional development to introduce educators at all grade levels to MarcoPolo and how it can be integrated into the curriculum. The training sessions are led by internet education specialists, and all participants receive copies of a teacher training kit.

The content on the MarcoPolo web site doubles every year, and the site enjoys more than one million user sessions a month, said Caleb Schutz, a WorldCom vice president and president of the company's foundation. All 50 states have signed up to use the site's content, Schutz added.

But if WorldCom files for bankruptcy as many analysts predict, the fate of these and other education initiatives is unclear.

Schutz told eSchool News it was business as usual for the WorldCom Foundation right now, but he acknowledged that "it's hard to predict" what will happen as a result of the scandal.

"This is an extremely important, compelling program for the country," he said. "It would be a huge loss to pull the plug on all this content."

Educators familiar with the program agreed.

"MarcoPolo is an incredible program," said Bob Moore, director of information technology services for the Blue Valley School District in Overland Park, Kansas. "It really is standards-based, and you'd hate to lose something like that. If WorldCom is unable to sustain programs like MarcoPolo, one would hope that some other company or foundation would be willing to help it continue."

From a broader perspective, Moore added, "It would be terrible to lose the WorldCom Foundation. It has been such a tremendous supporter of quality, innovative educational programs."

WorldCom slid toward bankruptcy June 26 after disclosing what is alleged to be the biggest case of crooked accounting in U.S. history. The news sent telecommunications stocks and other shares plunging on Wall Street.