Relativity Announces Expansion of Wired to Learn Grant Program to More Illinois Public Schools

Wired to Learn grants, which fund technology access in education, will be available to Illinois schools in the greater Chicago region for the first time.

News provided by

Relativity

Dec 18, 2017, 13:45 ET

CHICAGO, Dec. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Relativity, a global legal technology company headquartered in Chicago, announced today that it will award 2018 Wired to Learn grants to public schools in DuPage, Lake, Will, and Cook Counties. The grant is a key component of Relativity Gives, the company's community outreach program, that works to ensure students in under-resourced schools have access to the technology, equipment, and training they need to be successful in today's workforce.

Created in 2013 and awarded annually, the Wired to Learn grant is a three-year, milestone-contingent grant of up to $250,000 that provides resources to help teachers integrate technology into their everyday curriculum. For potential applicants, a series of information webinars scheduled for Dec. 21, Dec. 27, and Jan. 2 will further explain the application process.

Since the foundation of Relativity Gives, Relativity has provided more than $1.5 million dollars to Chicago Public Schools (CPS) through Wired to Learn and other giving initiatives to improve students' learning experiences and prepare them for college and careers through the use of educational technology.

Due in part to contributions from Wired to Learn, students at two schools, Josiah L. Pickard Elementary and Martha M. Ruggles Elementary, saw rises in Northwest Exam Association (NWEA) test scores over their three-year grant terms. NWEA tests are designed to measure student success in grades two through eight. Pickard students' NWEA scores for math increased from 42 percent to 89 percent and for reading from 26 percent to 78 percent. At Ruggles, scores for math went from 6 percent to 52 percent and for reading from 19 percent to 81 percent.

"Technology can help level the playing field for future generations and we're committed to increasing access to it in the communities where our offices reside," said Dorie Blesoff, chief people officer at Relativity. "We've seen incredible results from students at our Wired to Learn schools in Chicago, and we're excited to see what can happen at schools in neighboring communities that have many of the same challenges. When something works well, we want to find new ways to leverage our efforts to have a great impact."

Two schools will be chosen to receive Wired to Learn grants in 2018. To be eligible, schools must:

be sponsored by their school district
have more than 70 percent of their student population eligible for free or reduced lunch
have less than a 1:1 device-to-student ratio
be a public school located in the Illinois counties of DuPage, Lake, Will and Cook Counties
be a non-CPS school

School districts can sponsor nominations for two schools and special consideration will be given to schools with feeder patterns, where students can start learning with technology access and continue as they are promoted to a new school or district. As Wired to Learn expands to new districts, Relativity will continue supporting CPS with a new funding partnership supporting personalized learning initiatives in public schools.

About Relativity
At Relativity, we make software to help users organize data, discover the truth, and act on it. Our e-discovery platform is used by more than 13,000 organizations around the world – in the cloud, on-premises, or both – to manage large volumes of data and quickly identify key issues during litigation, internal investigations, and compliance projects. Relativity has over 160,000 active users in 40+ countries from organizations including the U.S. Department of Justice, more than 70 Fortune 100 companies, and 199 of the Am Law 200. As a platform, Relativity also allows developers to design, build, and integrate applications that extend its functionality. Relativity has been named one of Chicago's Top Workplaces by the Chicago Tribune for seven consecutive years. Please contact Relativity at [email protected] or visit http://www.relativity.com for more information.

Press Contact
Mike Gilhooly
Relativity
(312) 216-5951
[email protected]

SOURCE Relativity