Khan Academy And Comcast Partner To Honor Oakland Students

OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast, in partnership with Khan Academy, a nonprofit on a mission to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere, today celebrated students from the City of Oakland for their achievement in Khan Academy's recent Bay Area learning challenge, LearnStorm2015. 

"We're excited to recognize all the Oakland students and educators who participated in LearnStorm 2015," said Sal Khan, Founder and CEO of Khan Academy.  "Through their hard work and grit, they've shown that you really can learn anything when you have the right mindset – and that's what LearnStorm is all about."

Comcast recently introduced new eligibility criteria for Internet Essentials, the nation's largest and most comprehensive high-speed Internet adoption program.  The Company expanded its instant approval process to all families whose children attend schools where fifty percent or more students participate in the National School Lunch Program.  All public schools in Oakland meet this new test.  As a result, all public school students in the City of Oakland will be instantly approved when they apply for the program, provided they meet the other eligibility criteria.

To celebrate Oakland's success in LearnStorm, Comcast will offer six months of complimentary home Internet service to any qualified family in the City of Oakland who has not yet signed up for Internet Essentials.  This includes all students in the Oakland Unified School District, plus any students who attend charter, parochial, private and cyber schools, as well as those who are being home schooled.

As a further incentive, starting today and running for the next two weeks, through September 2^nd, Comcast will also give away a free laptop to new families who take advantage of this special offer and are enrolled in and connected to the program.

"As children prepare to return to school, there is no more essential tool to have than Internet service at home, so learning can continue even when school is over for the day or the summer," said David. L. Cohen, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Comcast Corporation.  "We're thrilled with Oakland's impressive results in the LearnStorm challenge and can think of no better free online resource for students to take advantage of this upcoming school year than the potentially life-changing educational resources from Khan Academy." Oakland students topped the LearnStorm leaderboard in the "hustle" category as the number-one city, earning points for taking on challenging skills and demonstrating perseverance.  The three-month learning challenge for third- through 12^th-graders in 10 Bay Area counties was designed to build students' math skills through online practice on Khan Academy.  Students earned points by mastering math skills and tackling challenging new concepts.

"In order to reach our goals, we must embrace innovation and use technology to empower our students and enable learning," explained Oakland Unified School District Superintendent Antwan Wilson.  "Khan Academy demonstrates how new approaches can lead to student success and Comcast is a steadfast partner as we work to provide every OUSD student with Internet access and a portable wireless device--both at home and in the classroom.  It's only appropriate that these two partners honor the students of Oakland, as we march down the Pathway to Excellence."

Comcast recently announced that more than 500,000 low-income families nationally have signed up for the Internet Essentials program, benefitting more than 2 million Americans.  In addition, the Company announced it is doubling the Internet download speed to up to 10 Mbps and offering a free Wi-Fi router with the service.

About Internet Essentials:
Internet Essentials from Comcast is the nation's largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption program.  It provides low-cost broadband service for $9.95 a month plus tax; the option to purchase an Internet-ready computer for under $150; and multiple options to access free digital literacy training in print, online and in-person.  Eligible families must have at least one child eligible to participate in the National School Lunch Program, including public, parochial, private, and homeschooled students.  For more information or to apply for the program, visit www.InternetEssentials.com or call 1-855-846-8376, or, for Spanish, call 1-855-765-6995.

About Khan Academy:
Khan Academy is a 501(c)3 non-profit with a mission to change education for the better by providing a free world-class education for anyone, anywhere.  We believe that students of all ages should have free, unlimited access to the best educational content, and that they should be able to consume and master this content at their own pace.  In addition, we believe that there are incredible opportunities to use intelligent software development, deep data analytics, and intuitive user interfaces to more effectively surface and present these educational resources to students and teachers around the world.  Our library of content covers kindergarten to early college math, science topics such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and reaches into humanities with tutorials on economics, finance, music, philosophy, and art history.  We have over 26 million registered users and to date, we have delivered over 580 million lessons and 3.8 billion exercise problems.  Facebook |Twitter |YouTube |Blog

About Comcast Corporation:
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) is a global media and technology company with two primary businesses, Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal.  Comcast Cable is the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet and phone provider to residential customers under the XFINITY brand and also provides these services to businesses.  NBCUniversal operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures and Universal Parks and Resorts.  Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.

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