Dr. Rudy Castruita Receives 2003 Frank Withrow Outstanding Achievement in Education Leadership Award

The Consortium for School Networking honors Superintendent of San Diego County Office of Education

Press Release - For Immediate Release
For more information contact:

Toni Miller, Membership Director
Consortium for School Networking
202/861-2676, ext. 115
toni@cosn.org

Charlene Blohm
C. Blohm & Associates, Inc.
210/656-2324
charlene@cblohm.com

February 27, 2003, Washington, D.C. - The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) today awarded Superintendent Rudy Castruita of San Diego the 2003 Frank Withrow Outstanding Achievement in Education Leadership Award.

The award, sponsored by 3Com Corporation (www.3Com.com; Nasdaq: COMS), was presented this morning to Dr. Castruita during CoSN's 2003 K-12 School Networking Conference in Washington. D.C.

"We are honored to present this award to Rudy Castruita," said Marla Davenport, Chair of CoSN's Award Committee and Learning and Technology Director at TIES in St. Paul, Minn. "Dr. Castruita is a proven leader in technology and all aspects of education, especially in his support of the creation of web-based curriculum units. The advances he has championed have supported learning for all the students throughout San Diego County. He truly believes all students are important and each student deserves the same education opportunities."

Dr. Castruita is the Superintendent of the San Diego County Office of Education, which supports 42 districts ranging in size from 23 to 150,000 students and collectively serve 500,000 students.

During the last six years, San Diego County has become a leader in educational technology behind Dr. Castruita's vision and successful implementation of technologies to assist students reaching their fullest potential. Since his appointment in 1994, he has secured funding to rebuild the media center into a technology center, introduced distance learning for the staff, organized volunteer groups, and identified funding sources to build local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs) for school districts lacking funds for these projects.

Through Dr. Castruita's work with the community, state and federal governments, business leaders, teachers, students and administrators, he has created an environment of support and growth in the area of educational technology in his community and the state.

Dr. Castruita is a co-founder of the Superintendents' Technology Advisory Committee (STAC) that meets to discuss challenges and solutions common to educational leaders and currently serves on the Defense Schools advisory committee. The advances he has championed have supported learning for all students throughout San Diego County. He truly believes all students are important and each student deserves the same educational opportunities. Through his efforts and leadership we will continue to reach toward that goal.

"3Com is honored to be partnering with CoSN in recognizing educators that are taking the lead in finding ways that technology can enhance education. Dr. Castruita's program is a shining example of how the use of computers and networks can make a difference in classrooms," stated Mary Sherwood, Education Marketing Manager at 3Com.

About Frank Withrow

The award is named in honor of Frank Withrow, a longtime champion of K-12 education and thought-leader in the education technology movement. Withrow was an early childhood teacher for language-disabled children, and a researcher and clinical supervisor. His research included immediate visual memory, the development of multimedia language products, paired associate learning, and an all grades social curriculum. Withrow oversaw the development of closed-captioned television for deaf people and the Kurzweil Reading machine for the blind.

Withrow was the program manager for 56 television series from "Sesame Street" to "The Voyages of the Mimi." He was the first program manager for the Star Schools program. Withrow was the Education Program Director for the NASA Classroom of the Future. Today he works on the Job Corps technology program.

Past recipients of the Frank Withrow Outstanding Achievement in Education Leadership Award include:

• Herman Gaither, Superintendent of Beaufort County School District in Beaufort, S.C.
• Joe Kitchens, Superintendent of Western Heights School District in Oklahoma City, Okla.
• Carol Bird Kaunzner, Technology Director, Ft. Huachuca Accommodation Schools in Ft. Huachuca, Ariz.

For more information, visit www.cosn.org/about/awards/withrow.cfm.

About the K-12 School Networking Conference

The CoSN K-12 School Networking Conference is the leading policy and practice conference in the education technology arena. Held annually in or around Washington, D.C., the conference attracts school district, state and national leaders, as well as members of the corporate community, who want the best and most up-to-date information on emerging issues in technology. For more information, visit www.k12schoolnetworking.org.

About the Consortium for School Networking

Founded in 1992, CoSN is the preeminent national voice on the use of the Internet and information technologies to improve K-12 learning. It played a leading role in creation of the E-rate and other key national education technology initiatives over the past decade. It is a "CIO-type" organization for education technology leaders from the school district, state and national level.

CoSN leadership initiatives include Data-Driven Decision Making (www.3d2know.org), Safeguarding the Wired Schoolhouse (www.safewiredschools.org), Taking Total Cost of Ownership to the Classroom (www.classroomtco.org), and the development of the Council of School District Chief Technology Officers (CTO).

Visit www.cosn.org or call 202/861-2676 to find out more about CoSN's programs and activities that support leadership development to ensure that information technology has a direct and positive impact on student learning in elementary and secondary schools.

About 3Com Corporation

3Com is a tier-one provider of innovative, practical and high-value networking products for enterprises of all sizes and public sector organizations. 3Com is also a leader in providing Internet protocol (IP) service platforms and access infrastructure for network service providers. For further information, please visit www.3com.com, or the press site www.3com.com/pressbox.