Dennis Bruno receives 2004 Frank Withrow Outstanding Achievement in Education Leadership Award

Press Release: For Immediate Release

For more information contact:

Beth Cherry Adibi, Director of Marketing
Consortium for School Networking
202/861-2676, ext. 120
beth@cosn.org

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

The Consortium for School Networking Honors Superintendent of Glendale School District in Flinton, Pennsylvania

Washington, DC (March 2, 2004) - The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) today awarded Superintendent Dennis Bruno of Glendale School District in Flinton, PA, the 2004 Frank Withrow Outstanding Achievement in Education Leadership Award.

The award, sponsored by Inspiration Software, Inc. (www.inspiration.com) and Scholastic Administr@tor magazine (www.scholastic.com/administrator) was presented this morning to Bruno during CoSN's 9th Annual K-12 School Networking Conference.

"Dennis (Bruno) provides the perfect model of how to turn a fiscally challenged district into a productive, technologically-integrated environment," said Bob Moore, CoSN Board Chair and Executive Director, IT services at Blue Valley United School District in Overland Park, Kan. "He has maximized his resources and has involved the community in his efforts to improve and expand the educational opportunities for his students."

Bruno is superintendent of the Glendale School District, a rural Pennsylvania district covering 100 square miles and with an average household income of $17,000. Prior to Bruno's tenure, the district had virtually no technology.

During the last seven years, Bruno has used nearly $4 million in grant money to transform Glendale School District into a high-tech setting, complete with a wireless infrastructure, nearly one-to-one computing and professional development programs for the district's teachers. Bruno is also credited for rallying the community in support of technology and education. One initiative even created opportunities for residents to purchase low-cost, high-speed wireless Internet access and secondhand school computers via auction.

"Superintendent Bruno's achievements demonstrate that when a school leader has a vision of the way that technology can improve teaching and learning, nothing, not even fiscal restraints, can stand in the way of offering students access to cutting-edge hardware and software," said Mona Westhaver, president and co-founder, Inspiration Software. "Through his entrepreneurial efforts, he has made technology an integral part of education in his district and the community of Flinton."

Bruno served as director of curriculum and instructional technology at Glendale before being named superintendent. Prior to coming to Glendale, he taught gifted sixth grade students in the Altoona (Pa.) Area School District.

"We're delighted to be able to share Superintendent Bruno's story in our March 2004 issue," added Bernadette Grey, editor-in-chief of Scholastic Administr@tor. "The 100,000 school leaders who read our magazine can learn so much from his example."

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

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

• Herman Gaither, Superintendent of Beaufort County School District in Beaufort, SC
• Joe Kitchens, Superintendent of Western Heights School District in Oklahoma City, OK
• Carol Bird Kaunzner, Technology Director, Ft. Huachuca Accommodation Schools in Ft. Huachuca, AZ
• Rudy Castruita, Superintendent of San Diego County Office of Education

About the Annual K-12 School Networking Conference

The K-12 School Networking Conference is the premier event for education leaders to examine the future of the Internet and education technologies in the classroom. More than 500 district, state and national education technology leaders will attend the conference.

The 9th Annual K-12 School Networking Conference, Personalization & Empowerment: No Child Left Behind and Technology, addresses the increasing emphasis on ensuring that classroom interventions impact achievement. Educators will analyze the capabilities of technological tools and how technology can be leveraged to meet the learning needs of all individual students.

Visit www.k12schoolnetworking.org for more detailed program and registration information.

About the Consortium for School Networking

Founded in 1992, CoSN, a national nonprofit organization, is the premier voice in educational technology leadership. Its mission is to advance the K-12 education community's capacity to effectively use technology to improve learning through advocacy, policy and leadership development. CoSN members represent school districts, state and local education agencies, nonprofits, companies and individuals who share this vision.

CoSN leadership initiatives include: Cyber Security for the Digital District (www.securedistrict.org); 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 phone 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.

Editor's note: For additional information or to coordinate interviews, contact Charlene Blohm at 210/602-1444 (mobile).