GCI Joins Effort to Improve Education in the 21^st Century

Seattle, WA (June 30, 2003) - The Partnership for 21^st Century Skills, an organization created to define and incorporate into learning the skills necessary for every student's success in tomorrow's workplace, today welcomed General Communication Inc. (GCI) as one of the Partnership's five "Participating Organizations." GCI's SchoolAccess service connects rural schools in Alaska, Arizona, New Mexico and Montana with new education opportunities via high speed Internet, distance learning, and other technology services. As a "Participating Organization," GCI will contribute to the content of the Partnership's deliverables, including the MILE Guide and Report released today at the National Education Computing Conference in Seattle.

"We're pleased that GCI will join us in our effort to better prepare students for life and work in the 21^st century," said Ken Kay, president of the Partnership. "By working together, we can incorporate 21^st century skills into learning and help states, districts and schools adopt a long-term vision for effective education in the new millennium."

"As a technology partner to rural schools throughout Alaska, Arizona, Montana and New Mexico, GCI is committed to enabling students everywhere to adequately prepare for the 21^st century," said Martin Cary, vice president of GCI Broadband Services.  "We believe rural students and teachers should have access to the same educational opportunities as their urban counterparts.  GCI is proud to deliver these opportunities to rural schools, and to participate in the Partnership's mission to equip students everywhere with the skills necessary to succeed in tomorrow's workforce."

While there is broad consensus that students need new skills to be successful in the future and No Child Left Behind requires that every student be "technologically literate" by the eighth grade, no clear consensus on a definition of 21^st Century Skills or technology literacy exists to guide educators.  In addition, schools need help integrating these skills into the curriculum and measuring success. 

The Partnership will work with educators, businesses and local leaders to create an overall vision of how to best incorporate these skills into K-12 education and will provide tools to that end. Its first deliverables, a report on Learning for the 21^st Century and accompanying MILE (Milestones for Improving Learning and Education)Guide for 21^st Century Skills, will help communities develop a long-term strategy for improving education in the future, while they work in the short-term to meet the challenges of NCLB.

Formed last year, the Partnership is a public-private organization. Its members are the AOLTW Foundation, Apple, Cable in the Classroom, Cisco Systems, Dell, Microsoft, the National Education Association (NEA), and SAP.  Its work is supported through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and the Partnership works closely with special advisors John Bailey and Doug Simon of the Department.  More information can be found at www.21stcenturyskills.org.

SchoolAccess is a premium Internet service that utilizes the E-rate program to enable rural schools to afford broadband access and high-quality services such as filtering, e-mail, web hosting, and network administration. SchoolAccess works closely with schools to meet their individual technological needs. More information about SchoolAccess can be found at www.schoolaccess.net

GCI (Nasdaq:GNCMA) provides local, wireless, and long distance telephone, cable television, Internet and data communication services in Alaska. More information about the company can be found at www.gci.com.