Barry Bonds-sponsored tutoring program for low-income students will kick off at Richmond school

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--When children fromwealthy school districts fall behind in school, they can often turn toprivate tutoring firms or state-of-the-art computer technology forhelp. But when low-income students start to fall behind, they rarelyhave the same options. In an effort to level the playing field, SanFrancisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds and United Way of the Bay Areaare launching a new project to give low-income, low-scoring Bay Areachildren the same chance to succeed.The project, Link 'n Learn, will be announced Tuesday, Jan. 16, ata 1 p.m. press conference (featuring Bonds, school administrators,United Way representatives, parents, and children), at the VerdeElementary School, 2000 Giaramita Street, in North Richmond. VerdeElementary is the lowest-scoring school in California according to thestate's standardized test scores (SAT-9)."There's been a feeling of neglect in North Richmond for a longtime, a feeling we've been forgotten," said Janice Thompson, principalof Verde Elementary. "But now there's excitement in the air - a sensethat we're ready to move forward. This project will help open the doorof knowledge for our children."The new, two-year program, Link 'n Learn, will use two of the bestprivate tutoring firms in the country, Sylvan Learning Systems andLightspan Partnership, new computers, and Sony playstations witheducational software. The goal is to raise by at least one grade levelthe literacy rates of 1,500 low-income Bay Area students who havescored in the bottom quarter of the state's SAT-9 test. The programwill launch at Verde Elementary with 84 children, but will expand toother schools and community centers in some of the poorestneighborhoods of Oakland, San Francisco, and East Palo Alto.The project was conceived by Bonds, who became concerned about theplight of low-scoring Bay Area children after enrolling his own son inan after-school tutoring program: "His attitude towards learning beganto change and his academic performance improved," Bonds said. "I feltI had to do whatever I could to give other Bay Area children equalaccess to the same type of program that helped my son."Bonds turned to United Way of the Bay Area for help developing theprogram. The project targets second and third grades because those arecritical years in a child's academic development. By fourth grade,underachieving students are likely to remain behind: "This projectwill change kids' lives," said Anne Wilson, Chief Executive Officer ofUnited Way of the Bay Area. "Our aim is to build their skills, buildtheir self-esteem, and create lifelong learners. We are so grateful toBarry Bonds for his leadership and vision in making this possible."The program comes at a critical time in California, which hasadopted new standardized achievement exams and state laws that mandatethe retention of students who are not performing at their gradelevels.The project is being sponsored by the Barry Bonds FamilyFoundation, United Way of the Bay Area, AT&T, IBM and others.

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