Office of the Governor


BOB RILEY, Governor                                                            Press Office

January 24, 2006

Governor Riley and Students to See ACCESS in Action
Technology Connecting Students, Teacher at Three Schools Across the State

MONTGOMERY – When Governor Bob Riley joins students at Bob Jones High School in Madison County on Thursday, they will be learning Latin.  What’s unusual is that their Latin teacher will be about 40 miles away at Sheffield High School, who will simultaneously be teaching students at Alma Bryant High School at the other end of the state in Mobile.  Students at the three schools will be connected to their teacher through Alabama’s new ACCESS program (Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators and Students Statewide), which uses video-conference and Internet technology to open new learning opportunities to students across the state.  “This is going to revolutionize the way we teach children in Alabama. By making the right investments in our classrooms, we’ve put the latest technology to work for our students and teachers, and it’s opening up whole new worlds of opportunity to children who would otherwise not have the chance to take these courses,” Governor Riley said.

Governor Riley first proposed ACCESS in his 2005 State of the State Address and included $10 million in the budget to start 24 pilot sites in high schools across the state. These 24 schools are using the distance learning technology to provide real-time, interactive courses ranging from Latin to Physics, Advanced Placement Government to Shakespeare.  “Before ACCESS, many of our students – especially in smaller, rural schools – were locked out from taking these kinds of courses. The technology exists today to help our students achieve, and as we implement ACCESS across the state, all our students will benefit,” said Governor Riley.