Hayward Unified School District and Xerox Make the Grade with Online Learning

Business Wire, Dec 5, 2006

'Xerox presented itself as a true partner to our IT staff'

ROCHESTER, N.Y. & HAYWARD, Calif. -- What if teachers could adapt their daily lesson plan based on current events and at a moment's notice provide students with color printouts supporting the day's discussions? Picture a teacher using an interactive whiteboard that is connected to the Internet. During class, the teacher visits an online news site and prints out color copies of a breaking story for every student. With the help of Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX), that's exactly what's happening at Hayward Unified School District in California.

The 24,000-student district has chosen Xerox to support its online learning center known as e-District. Under its five-year, multimillion-dollar deal, the school district is using more than 60 Xerox WorkCentre([R]) color multifunction systems and Xerox DocuShare([R]) enterprise content management software with the learning center.

Hayward's e-District is built around a citywide wireless network and a Web portal. It enhances student learning and assessment, helps deploy professional development materials to staff, and manages documents. Teachers, now equipped with additional tools to grab students' attention, use the portal's interactive whiteboard to create lessons with embedded images and other visuals. They generate excitement in the classroom by tailoring lesson plans to react to students' queries and interest areas, and they instantly provide supporting printed material.

Xerox DocuShare software, which works with the e-District portal, enables teachers to save and share documents and multimedia files. Faculty and administrators across the city can access the curriculum files through the e-District portal and check them against California state testing standards. Previously, teachers had no easy way to share curriculum other than in district-wide meetings.

Materials can also be sent from the portal to the print center. Xerox has outfitted Hayward's print centers with a range of systems for the district's high-volume printing needs, including the Xerox DocuColor([R]) 250 color copier-printer and Xerox 4110[TM] production system. The equipment is used to print student materials, report cards, calendars, newsletters and mailers.

"Xerox presented itself as a true partner to our IT staff and proved that it understood not only our infrastructure but also our vision for a high-tech learning center," said Patrick J. Simon, chief information officer, Hayward Unified School District. "It delivered a solution that works seamlessly with our other technology investments - a key factor in the success of our e-District portal."

Hayward is also using its Xerox WorkCentre systems - which print, copy, fax and scan - to scan all hardcopy student records, which date back to 1950, and save them as digital files in a secure Xerox DocuShare online repository. This will free an entire room currently dedicated to these records and spare hours of searching through hardcopy folders to locate student files. The district plans to make student information available through the e-District portal later this year, providing parents secure access with password protection to their child's complete academic profile.

About Hayward's e-District portal

Hayward Unified School District has 33 K-12 schools and more than 24,000 students. Its e-District is a Web-based, continuously available, citywide wireless school district. It provides the entire Hayward community with free access to the wireless network through the e-District portal. The deployment also includes advanced classroom and curriculum technology that is integrated with the e-District portal. It serves as a vital link connecting students, teachers, administrators and the community.

Customer Contacts:

For more information about Xerox digital printing technology and services, visit www.xerox.com/tr/office or call 800-ASK-XEROX.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information about Xerox and to receive its RSS news feed, visit www.xerox.com/news. XEROX[R], WorkCentre[R] and DocuShare[R] are trademarks of XEROX CORPORATION. DocuColor[R] is used under license.