INTEL AND SOLV ANNOUNCE EDUCATION GRANT

Date: July 22, 2006

Hillsboro, OR - SOLV and Intel Oregon announce the award of an Intel Foundation education grant to support a pilot service-learning program, Equipo Verde (Green Team), in partnership with the OSU Extension 4-H "Tech Wizards" program in the Forest Grove School District.

"The program builds on SOLV's expertise in service-learning," comments Susan Abravanel, SOLV Education Director. "It also incorporates SOLV's acknowledged leadership in urban stream restoration project management."

According to Lisa Conroy, OSU Extension Service Washington County 4-H faculty and Tech Wizards Program coordinator, "The 4-H Tech Wizards program is delighted to expand our highly successful after-school mentoring program at Forest Grove High School to include this new science, leadership, and Career-Related Learning Standards (CRLS) focused project. Intel Oregon has supported Tech Wizards with volunteers and grants since its inception in 1999 This new partnership with SOLV is one more example of how organizations working together can engage families to make a huge difference in educational achievement, future workforce readiness, and the quality of life in our communities."

The pilot program will target the Latino student population. According to the 2004-05 Oregon Statewide Report Card, this population has increased 183 percent in the last decade and is under-served in math, science and technology-related education and careers.

"Intel is so pleased to help support SOLV's service-learning initiative," said Janet Rash, Community Relations Manager at Intel Oregon. "Participating in programs that link the classroom to the community and help close the achievement gap for Latino youth is high on our list.of key objectives."

According to State Schools Superintendent Susan Castillo, a partner with SOLV, INTEL and OSU Extension in the Forest Grove project, only about 20% of Latino students met 10 th grade standards in mathematics, compared with about 50% of the total student population In addition, nearly 10% of Latino students drop out before graduating from high school, and we believe programs like this one can reverse that trend.

"The challenge is clear," says Ms Abravanel. "Oregon needs new, engaging educational initiatives, targeted at its significant and growing under-represented Latino student population. Our pilot is designed to help them be successful in meeting academic standards in science, mathematics and language arts, as well as meet Oregon's new high school graduation requirements." Students are expected to demonstrate completion of an "extended application," through which they apply school-based learning to new out-of-school situations; and are assessed on their ability to incorporate "career-related learning experiences" in the areas of Personal Management, Problem Solving, Communication, Teamwork, Employment Foundations and Career Development.

"Research also points to the success of service-learning in leading to improved student retention of academic learning and skills; increased student motivation; decreased dropout rate; and students who feel more positive about the relevance of schools in their lives," she concluded.

Intel, the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom. Intel Oregon, with 17,000 employees, is Oregon's largest private employer and Intel's largest and most comprehensive site in the world More information is available at www.intel.com/community/Oregon.

Founded in 1969 by Oregon Governor Tom McCall to address litter and vandalism problems, SOLV has expanded to reach every county in the state and to bring together government agencies, businesses and individuals in programs and projects to enhance the livability of Oregon. Because of this expansion SOLV no longer calls itself "Stop Oregon Litter and Vandalism" and has adopted the acronym, SOLV, as its official name.

Press Contact:

Lisa Conroy, 4-H Faculty
Email: Lisa.Conroy@OregonState.edu
Phone: 503-725-2113

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