Verizon Wireless Announces Educational Empowerment Program With The McCaskey High School Campus In Lancaster

LANCASTER, Pa. , Jan. 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --  Verizon Wireless , provider of the largest and most reliable 4G LTE network in America , today announced that it will implement an educational empowerment program at the School District of Lancaster's two McCaskey High School buildings, J.P. McCaskey and McCaskey East, in partnership with Samsung. The program will focus on mobile learning and inform students how to leverage technology in and out of the classroom to assist in learning and preparing for entering higher education or the workforce.

"Giving back to the community is a top priority for Verizon Wireless," said Mario Turco, Regional President for Verizon Wireless . "This program fulfills our goals on several levels; it teaches students about technology, opens them to experiences they wouldn't ordinarily have, and drives home the importance of continuing their education, all while flexing their creative muscles and collaborating."

Since the educational empowerment program was created by Verizon Wireless in 2011, it has been implemented in 15 high schools in the northeastern United States. Verizon Wireless selected J.P. McCaskey and McCaskey East to be the first high schools in Pennsylvania to execute the program.

The program's signature component is its student app competition, which will have 12 teams of three students, all selected by the schools' administration, working to develop unique app concepts and creating marketing plans around them. Throughout the project, which runs through April, students will attend bi-weekly workshops conducted by Verizon Wireless team members covering topics such as resume writing, job interview skills, and social media fundamentals.

At the end of the project term, teams will present their app concepts and marketing plans. A panel of judges from Verizon Wireless will select three finalists and a public online vote will determine first and second place winners. The members of the winning team will receive $2,000 scholarships, new Samsung tablets and Verizon Wireless summer internships.

Each member of the second place team will also receive a Samsung tablet. Winners will be named at the McCaskey High School Awards Program May 1.

"This opportunity aligns with my commitment, as well as our Board of School Directors', in equipping our classrooms with the tools needed to learn in a 21st century classroom and community," said School District of Lancaster Superintendent Pedro Rivera. "Technology is an important component to engaging students' interest and preparing them for college and career readiness."

Most of the educational empowerment program will be facilitated on the Samsung Galaxy Tab™ using Edmodo's free Android App, an online social learning network for education.

"The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 allows for a dynamic user experience for both teachers and students while encouraging the growth of the connected classroom," said Timothy Wagner, Vice President and General Manager of B2B Sales for Samsung Mobile. "Samsung Mobile is always pursuing opportunities to support educational programs and set a new education standard by providing mobile devices that help students succeed both inside and outside the classroom."

The classroom tablets will be managed by SOTI's MobiControl MDM platform to empower students with the content they need while ensuring responsible use in the classroom.

"We are excited about the opportunity to take an active part with Verizon Wireless and Samsung to empower students to reach their full potential," said Charlie Grieco, Executive Director Strategic Alliances, SOTI Inc. "Education is a key focus at SOTI and the Verizon Wireless educational empowerment program fits well with SOTI's vision of technology as a cornerstone of the classroom of the future."

J.P. McCaskey and McCaskey East were selected for the program by Verizon Wireless because of their diverse student populations.

For more information on Verizon Wireless, please visit www.verizonwireless.com or call 1-800-2-JOIN IN. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/VZWsheldon .

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