January 10, 2002

Media Contact: Michael Dabney, (858) 822-3432

Working with a viable network of community partners, the University of California, San Diego will establish a multi-purpose Community Technology Center serving Gompers Secondary School in the San Diego Unified School District and the school's surrounding Chollas View neighborhood.

The project, made possible by a $280,000 grant awarded recently to UCSD by the U.S. Department of Education, will include live video online tutoring by UCSD undergraduates, and tutoring and mentoring in computer engineering by Qualcomm employee volunteers.

With a special emphasis on computer education and training, the technology center is intended to enhance student academic achievement in math and other subjects at Gompers, improve neighborhood residents' access to computers, and to develop technological links between school, family and community. The center will be physically housed at Gompers, with extended services and classes available at other facilities in the Chollas View area.

The project builds upon established partnerships between UCSD, Gompers, San Diego Unified School District, Cal-SOAP (California Student Opportunity and Access Program), and the San Diego Workforce Partnership's Youth@Work Program. The effort also involves the San Diego Urban League, the Qualcomm Employee Volunteer Program, and the Jackie Robinson YMCA.

"This is a collaborative effort between UCSD and various community entities to improve computer access, thereby enhancing the academic, career and informational skills of students, parents and other residents of the Chollas View area," says Joseph Watson, UCSD Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs. "Studies have shown that access to computers, including the Internet and related technology, is important for assuring academic success and success in today's job market."

A key component of the program at Gompers will be combined use of interactive computer software and live video distance tutoring (via computer "web cams") to improve students' math skills and test scores. Web cam technology allows students working from their computer stations at school to simultaneously see, hear and communicate in writing with their math tutors located in a special Outreach Communications Center at UCSD.

Live, online distance tutoring is a centerpiece of the new Gompers Computer Technology Center. Above (left), 9th graders at Gompers receive assistance online during algebra class from their tutor (right) located at UCSD 20 miles away.

UCSD has used web cam tutoring successfully at Gompers since early 2001 for other academic enrichment efforts, namely a comprehensive after-school and weekend math and science program administered by Cal-SOAP and funded by the Verizon Foundation. Results of this program revealed that web cam tutoring, and use of interactive software, dramatically increased students' interest and motivation in math and science, while enhancing the overall academic achievement of many learners.

"At the new Community Technology Center, web cam technology will now be focused on improving algebra skills for all our ninth grade students during structured, in-class sessions each school day, " says Donald Mitchell, principal at Gompers, where the center's web cam facilities for algebra have been operational since December 2001.

To aid in the project's efforts, UCSD and the San Diego Unified School District provided Gompers with 65 new high-speed computers for web cam tutoring use.

Gompers students can also take advantage of another curriculum feature at the center -- The Student Business Academy, which will train students to provide computer assistance (such as spreadsheet creation and analysis) for small businesses in the community.

The following services will be offered by the center to Chollas View residents through the Jackie Robinson YMCA in cooperation with the San Diego Urban League, San Diego Workforce Partnership, and the Qualcomm Employee Volunteer Program.

These services include: