State College, Pennsylvania, Sept. 18, 2009 — Schoolwires awarded $26,250 in scholarships for the 2008/2009 school year as part of its Schoolwires Scholarship Program, it was announced today by Schoolwires, one of the nation’s leading providers of strategic website and community management solutions for building stronger school communities, more effective schools and greater student success.
The scholarship funds were distributed among 38 Schoolwires customer districts. During the two-year period that the program has been under way, Schoolwires has awarded $60,000 to districts in scholarship funds. The districts choose the students they feel are the most deserving to receive the scholarships.
Brian Garber, a student at Radnor High School in Radnor, PA, received a $500 scholarship from his district that was funded by Schoolwires. Garber used the funds to support the school’s Microsoft Authorized Refurbishers (MAR) program. The program was started by Garber and Clyde Diehl, one of the school’s guidance counselors, to provide home computers to students who would otherwise not have one. Today, donations of older computers are accepted from the community and school district, and a group of Radnor students refurbish the computers after school under the direction of Nancy Holshue, faculty advisor, and Garber. To date, the group has refurbished and distributed more than 30 computers, helping provide technology access to students.
Garber used the funds to purchase peripherals and accessories to complement the refurbished computers. The items include surge protectors, refurbished inkjet printers, reams of paper, USB jump drives and mouse pads, all of which are provided as "starter packs" to students along with their computers.
“The scholarship funds from Schoolwires helped us to purchase the equipment for our starter packs that are an essential part of our outreach,” said Garber. “These accessories make our refurbished computers both accessible and practical in a recipient’s home. For example, the jump drives allow students to easily transfer files to and from school.”
“Schoolwires has been very successful, being ranked by Inc. magazine in the top 10 fastest-growing education company for three consecutive years,” said Edward S. Marflak, founder and CEO of Schoolwires. “In addition to investing in new product development, we also place a priority on giving back to our customers who have helped make us successful. We are especially pleased to see the scholarship dollars go to someone like Brian Garber who shares our vision of leveraging technology in support of student success.”
Radnor Township School District has implemented the Schoolwires Centricity™strategic website and community management platform and its integrated Assist™ service management request solution. It plans to implement the integrated Synergy digital file sharing application from Schoolwires in the near future.
About Radnor Township School District
Radnor Township School District has a tradition of excellence. Supported by a community that values education, the district is proud to deliver an exceptional educational program that strives to meet the needs of our students, their families, and the community.
Fully staffed by more than 300 highly qualified teachers, including classroom teachers, literacy coaches, teacher leaders and staff developers, reading specialists, librarians, nurses, special education teachers, guidance counselors, psychologists, and other support specialists, this high-performing school district consistently ranks among the top educational institutions in the country. Ongoing staff development provides opportunities for growth in understanding of content, best practices and instruction to enrich teaching and learning. The district offers a comprehensive program for more than 3,600 students and has instituted a new strategic plan through 2013.
For more information on MAR, visit http://www.rtsd.org/60020317161733237/site/default.asp
About Schoolwires, Inc.
Schoolwires Inc. (www.schoolwires.com) is headquartered in Pennsylvania, USA.
Schoolwires provides strategic online communication, community-management and productivity solutions to the K-12 education market. The company’s core product is CentricityTM, which brings together robust and flexible website management, community management and web 2.0/social network capabilities in a single, user-centric solution. Schoolwires also delivers Schoolwires Synergy™, a digital file sharing solution, Schoolwires Assist™, a service request solution, and Schoolwires Share, an exclusive online client community and support center.
Schoolwires ranked in the Inc5000 as the 605th fastest growing private company in 2009. The company achieved Inc500 status the previous two consecutive years, and has ranked in the top ten fastest growing private education companies in the nation for three consecutive years.
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