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SCHOOLCITY.COM LAUNCHES E-COMMERCE PROGRAM, LESSON PLAN CONTEST

November 30, 1999

A new online community for educators and families unveiled two new programs this month to help communities share the wealth with their schools and help teachers share knowledge with each other. SchoolCity.com launched a new electronic commerce program Tuesday to help schools extend their revenue-generating programs to the Internet. Earlier this month, the company announced a lesson plan contest to encourage teachers to post tried-and-true projects on the web. Particularly creative teachers will be rewarded with a Caribbean cruise, a new computer or a library of computer software.

SchoolCity.com, a Santa Clara, Calif., company founded last January, offers schools several ways to raise money, including adding an online retail store to the schools' web sites, selling banner ad space on the sites and selling school-related merchandise such as souvenirs and booster memorabilia. These "non-traditional sources of income" can help schools jump into the electronic commerce tide that is already helping private companies and non-profit organizations increase their revenues. SchoolCity.com added online sales to a host of other free services it offers teachers and schools to help them establish home pages on the Internet and communicate with families. The site also helps parents find other appropriate places on the Internet for children to visit for educational and entertainment purposes.

SchoolCity's Fundraising for Schools is a program that allows schools to earn a portion of the sales made by established online retail stores selling educational materials and other items to consumers who want to shop online and support their local school at the same time. As much as 25 percent of each sale goes directly to a school designated by the shopper, SchoolCity.com says. Bookseller Amazon.com and toy retailer Toys 'R' Us are among online retailers participating in the program.

SchoolCity can also create a school store online to help the school sell uniforms, team jerseys, yearbooks and other items, shifting sales onto the Internet and away from traditional take-home forms. All of the revenue generated by a school's online store goes to the school itself. Finally, the banner ad program allows schools to sell to advertisers up to 20 percent of their web site hosted on SchoolCity.com. Schools maintain control of management and sales of the ad space and keep 100 percent of the revenues.

Meanwhile, the company made a move earlier this month to build its online lesson plan archive, dangling fame and prizes in front of teachers willing to share their experiences. SchoolCity.com's Best of the Web Lesson Plan Competition is the first in what the company hopes will become an annual event for secondary school teachers in the United States.

SchoolCity.com is one of a growing number of online sites that compile teachers' lesson plans on various subjects and for various grade levels. The range of web sites offering access to lesson plans includes those specifically focused on lessons for students with disabilities as well as sites featuring information on general educational topics. SchoolCity.com also provides a template in the "My Classroom" section of the web site, to assist teachers who want to share their lesson plans with others.

Lesson plans in SchoolCity.com's competition must emphasize creative instruction and include use of the Internet by students. Entries will be judged on innovative integration of the Internet into the lesson plan, clarity and ease of use of student assessment and evaluation tools, creativity of the approach and adaptability to various learning abilities and learning levels. The judges' panel is comprised of eight current or former teachers, including Michael Hutchison, of Lincoln High School in Vincennes, Ind. Hutchison was a national finalist for Technology and Learning Magazine's 1999 Teacher of the Year award.

Entries must be submitted by Feb. 1, using entry forms that are slated to be posted on the site Dec. 6. Grand prize, first place and runner up winners will be announced April 15 and will receive a Caribbean cruise for two, a new Dell personal computer and $300 in educational software, respectively.8