Background Information
Acronym: SBC
For information on contacting Pacific Bell, visit: http://www.sbc.com/contact_us/
Web Address: http://www.sbc.com

General Inquiries About Organization
Name and Title: Beth Bustamante, Education Advocate
Phone: (213) 975-2217
E-mail: beth@sbc.com

Forum Contact Person
Name and Title: Beth Bustamante, Education Advocate
Phone: (213) 975-2217
E-mail: beth@sbc.com

Name and Title: Sheila Afnan-Manns, Coordinator, Pacific Bell/UCLA Initiative for 21st Century Literacies, UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies
Address: 203 GSE&IS Building
City: Los Angeles
State: CA
Zip: 90095-1520
Phone: (310) 794-6569
Fax: (310) 206-4460
E-mail: afnanmanns@gseis.ucla.edu

Mission Statement:
Exploring the meaning of literacy in an age of rapidly changing technologies and growing diversity.

Organizational Background/Description
In step with their pioneering efforts to prepare California's young people, teachers, and librarians to seize the learning opportunities presented in the Information Age, SBC Pacific Bell presented a generous $1 million gift to UCLA's  Graduate School of Education & Information Studies (GSE&IS) to form the Pacific Bell/UCLA Initiative for 21st Century Literacies. This private-public partnership invests in projects that explore the meaning of literacy in an age of rapidly changing technologies and growing diversity through three critical areas:

• Educating the User: Enhancing the abilities of young people, teachers, librarians, and all citizens through the integration of information, cultural, media, visual, and other 21st century literacy skills.
• Improving the Information System: Improving access and use through system design matching the literacy levels, technological capacities, and other characteristics of the user.
• Addressing the Policy Issues: Defining the digital divide's multiple dimensions and developing indicators to measure the gaps and progress in closing them.