Enthusiastic Response to CPB's Request for Proposals on American History and Civics

For Immediate Release on November 10, 2005

Washington, D.C. -- The Corporation for Public Broadcasting's request for proposals to create innovative and effective ways of merging interactive technology with curriculum to teach American history and civics to middle and high school students has sparked an enthusiastic response.

CPB has received nearly ninety proposals from partnerships that include leading public television stations, top-tier universities, producers, and prominent high-tech companies. Many of the partnerships have recruited city and state school systems from around the country to assist in the research, development, testing and evaluation of the various proposed projects. Together, applicants have committed approximately $4.5 million in private funds to the program's research and development stage.

"Public broadcasting is at the forefront of education and high technology and, as such, is uniquely able to reach today's teens," Pat Harrison, CPB's president and CEO, said. "Together with our partners, we will lead a national effort to measurably improve young people's knowledge and understanding of American history and civics."

"It is particularly gratifying that so many of the country's top public television stations have embraced this effort by developing an impressive array of partnerships and proposals," said Michael Pack, CPB senior vice president, television programming. "The robust response from educators, content developers and high tech leaders from across the country reaffirms our belief that there is a real desire to find ways of using young people's powerful attraction to interactive technologies to develop better ways to teach them."

Launched in April 2005, the American History and Civics Initiative seeks to forge partnerships between public television managers, film makers, educators, and content developers - especially the high technology and interactive media sector - to create groundbreaking media projects and methods that will measurably improve the learning of American history and civics by middle and high school students. CPB will invest $20 million over the next three years, with additional funds contributed by partners.

About CPB

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government's investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,400 locally-owned and -operated public television and radio stations nationwide, and is the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television and related online services.

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