8 May 2000
General Superintendent Dr. Waldemar Rojas and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison will join Retired General Colin Powell, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the kick off of the Oracle Promise program in the Dallas Independent School District. A ribbon-cutting event has been scheduled for Monday, May 8, at 1 p.m., Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, 2501 Flora.
The Oracle Promise is a national program, sponsored by Oracle Corporation, to assist districts in providing the hardware and software needed for students to access Internet resources. In Dallas, this program will place up to 2000 network computers and selected peripherals in a minimum of 23 schools. Oracle employees will assist in the software installation. Selected teachers from each school will receive training and materials to ensure student access and effective use.
Oracle has long been dedicated to improving education for America's youth. "Oracle's Promise" expands the "Oracle Classroom of the Future" initiative, an established program created to donate software and hardware to low-income school districts.
Oracle Promise Schools in the DISD are Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and Bryan Adams high schools, Fred Florence Middle School, Thomas Rusk Middle School and the following elementary schools, Edwin J. Kiest, Rosemont, Ben Milam, Billy E. Dade, Stevens Park, O.M. Roberts, Sam Houston, Mark Twain, T. L. Marsalis, A. S. Johnston, Burnet, Anson Jones, Amelia Earhart, Herbert Marcus, Arthur Kramer, Reinhardt, George Bannerman Dealey, Bayles and Sidney Lanier.