SBC Foundation Launches $5 Million Grant to Support GEAR UP Education Partnerships Across the U.S.

          Following Senate Vote to Preserve GEAR UP Funding,
           SBC Expands Largest-Ever Grant to Promote College
                   Readiness for Low-Income Students

   Following overwhelming support from U.S. Senate members, who late
last week passed a significant education-funding bill for 2006, the
SBC Foundation today announced that it will provide $5 million to the
National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP) to
fund college access support programs for students from low-income
communities across the country.
   On Thursday, Oct. 27, the Senate resoundingly passed the FY 2006
Labor-HHS-Education Appropriation Bill (HR 3010), which includes
support for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate
Programs (GEAR UP), the nation's leading federally and privately
funded program that helps schools and communities to improve public
education and provide youth from low-income communities to become
college-ready and successful in postsecondary education. The House
voted to approve its version of the bill in June, and the proposed
budget is expected to be passed into law. As a result, in 2006, GEAR
UP will continue to expand education opportunities for approximately
1.5 million low-income middle and high school students in the U.S. and
its territories.
   "NCCEP is deeply grateful to members of Congress for recognizing
GEAR UP's early impact in our nation's schools and communities, in
maintaining its promise to making higher education a reality for
future generations of students," said Dr. Hector Garza, president of
NCCEP. "We are also very pleased to renew our partnership with the SBC
Foundation, whose support has already helped thousands of students --
and will now help even more deserving students."
   The SBC Foundation grant to NCCEP will support GEAR UP grantees by
funding after-school and summer enrichment programs in math, science,
reading and technological literacy, as well as help teachers and
students use technology in the classroom to enhance the teaching and
learning functions and improve students' academic performance. The
grant also funds the enhancement of a national evaluation framework of
the GEAR UP program.
   With the grant, the SBC Foundation -- the largest corporate
supporter of the public/private GEAR UP partnership -- brings its
total philanthropic commitment to $10 million in support of improving
low-income college access through GEAR UP programs.
   "SBC applauds members of Congress for continuing to make
educational access for low-income students a budgetary priority," said
Forrest Miller, group president-External Affairs and Planning. "SBC
believes that all students can achieve educational success given the
right tools, and we recognize GEAR UP's proven success in putting
students on a college trajectory. Improving educational opportunities
through technology -- highlighted by innovative public/private
approaches, like the GEAR UP model -- remains our number one funding
priority."
   GEAR UP, enacted as a result of Congress' passage of the Higher
Education Amendment of 1998, encourages students to stay in school and
enroll in a rigorous course of study that will prepare them to become
college-ready and competitive in the university admissions process.
The program currently serves 1.5 million students nationwide, and more
than 2,000 organizations currently participate in GEAR UP. GEAR UP
partnerships typically consist of collaborations between public
schools or districts, universities, community colleges, community and
parent groups and businesses.
   In 2004, the SBC Foundation provided $5 million in funding that
supported 79 collaboratives across the U.S., directly impacting more
than 325,000 low-income students. Under the program, 60 grants were
made to existing GEAR UP partnerships to support a variety of
community-focused education initiatives, including after-school
programs to help students in math, science, reading and technology;
training and assistance for teachers in the use of technology in the
classroom; and utilizing technology in enhancing measurements of
student achievement and program impact. Another 19 grants were made to
new education reform communities to assist them with their partnership
development efforts.
   Examples of the 2004 - 2005 grants include the University of
Connecticut GEAR UP, which launched, a Professional Development
Academy that enabled teachers in New Haven, Conn., to use software to
assist students in the areas of academic achievement, college
preparation and technology awareness. Reaching beyond the grant
objectives, they were able to repair, update and reopen four computer
labs in the school. Another 2004 grantee, the University of Wisconsin
- Eau Claire/Lac du Flambeau prepared students for advanced math and
science courses in high school, increased awareness about professional
math and science careers and created a technology lab for Native
American middle school students. More than 2,400 students participated
in the lab program.
   Projects funded through the SBC Foundation GEAR UP initiative will
be awarded through a competitive grants program managed by NCCEP. A
Request for Proposal package is now available on the NCCEP Web site,
www.edpartnerships.org, for GEAR UP grantees who meet the application
criteria.
   Over the last 10 years, SBC Communications and the SBC Foundation
have distributed more than $206 million in grants to support new
classroom technology, after-school programs, teacher preparedness and
other educational endeavors. In 2004, the SBC Foundation provided more
than $18.6 million dollars to support education initiatives across the
nation. More than 40 percent of recent SBC Foundation grants helped
support educational programs that use new technologies to enhance
education. Since 1984, SBC Communications and the SBC Foundation have
contributed more than $1 billion to nonprofit organizations and
affiliates across the country.
   The National Council for Community and Education Partnerships
(NCCEP) serves as the national technical assistance provider, annual
conference convener and voice in Washington, D.C., for the GEAR UP
program. NCCEP, a non-profit organization committed to creating and
sustaining K-16 education partnerships, works to increase academic
achievement and access to higher education for economically
disadvantaged students. By building broad-based partnerships, linking
schools and communities, developing new initiatives, supporting proven
programs, and using research findings to create successful frameworks
for action, NCCEP aims to invigorate the principle of equal
educational opportunity for all, and to help improve public education
in the United States. One of the primary objectives of NCCEP is to
promote academic achievement and encourage education reform in
schools, colleges and universities.
   The SBC Foundation is the charitable giving arm of SBC
Communications Inc. The SBC Foundation supports efforts that enrich
and strengthen diverse communities nationwide, particularly those with
an emphasis on education and technology and those that benefit
underserved populations. SBC Foundation-backed programs are designed
to increase access to information technologies, broaden technology
training and professional skills development, and effectively
integrate new technologies to enhance education and economic
development. The Foundation Center has consistently ranked the SBC
Foundation among the nation's top fifteen corporate foundations. In
2002, the SBC Foundation launched SBC Excelerator, a multimillion
dollar competitive grants program that funds nonprofit organizations
in their efforts to digitally connect communities. For more
information, visit www.sbc.com/foundation.
   SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC) is a Fortune 50 company whose
subsidiaries, operating under the SBC brand, provide a full range of
voice, data, networking, e-business, directory publishing and
advertising, and related services to businesses, consumers and other
telecommunications providers. SBC holds a 60 percent ownership
interest in Cingular Wireless, which serves more than 52 million
wireless customers. SBC companies provide high-speed DSL Internet
access lines to more American consumers than any other provider and
are among the nation's leading providers of Internet services. SBC
companies also offer satellite TV service. Additional information
about SBC and SBC products and services is available at www.sbc.com.