NCaect Recognizes Bank of America Foundation SAS inSchool gift to N.C. schools

Two-year grant makes educational curriculum available statewide

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (March 19, 2004)—At the annual conference for the North Carolina Association for Educational Communications and Technology (NCaect), Nancy Sands, president of NCaect, publicly recognized and thanked the Bank of America Foundation for its contribution to education in North Carolina. Public school teachers and their students across North Carolina have access to SAS inSchool's award-winning, Web-based educational curriculum through the 2004-05 school year, thanks to a grant by the Bank of America Foundation.

In a special session at the Adam's Mark Hotel, Rai Glover, Senior Vice-President of the Bank of America Foundation, accepted a plaque from NCaect commemorating the grant and its importance for the students in NC. The agreement is the first of its kind nationally in which a corporation and benefactor have partnered to make a technology gift to aid public education for an entire state school system.

The partnership makes SAS inSchool curriculum available to all public schools in the state, particularly those that serve grades 8-12. SAS inSchool, a division of SAS, creates Web-based teaching and learning curricula focusing on the core subjects taught in grades 8-12, including English, social studies, science, mathematics and Spanish. Sands said the grant will provide resources many North Carolina schools have never had.

"This support by Bank of America and SAS inSchool provides valuable resources to students and schools across our state," said Sands. "Media coordinators and technology facilitators help teachers and students use this software to support classroom learning."

"Bank of America is committed to higher standards in service to our customers, shareholders and communities," said Glover. "Our support of North Carolina's public schools, in cooperation with SAS inSchool, provides students, teachers and parents a valuable tool with a quality curriculum to accomplish the academic pursuit of excellence."

John Boling, Director of SAS inSchool said, "Bank of America Foundation has a national reputation for focusing resources on helping children and families succeed in life and helping neighborhoods flourish. SAS inSchool is privileged to be associated with this outstanding organization in supporting students and teachers in North Carolina."

SAS inSchool's standards-based resources are receiving growing acceptance coast to coast by middle schools, high schools, virtual schools, community colleges and universities. The award-winning software offers a Web-based planning environment for teachers. The material engages students with different learning styles, reaches students at various ability levels, inspires students with interactive learning and is accessible from school and home. It promotes problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Subjects are divided into categories and topics. Teachers can access materials quickly, plan lessons efficiently, flexibly integrate the material into different teaching and learning environments, differentiate instruction, spend more time with students and use highly effective multimedia to teach the more difficult topics.

For information on a school subscription courtesy of Bank of America, North Carolina educators may visit the Department of Public Instruction's NC WiseOwl site. By clicking on the SAS inSchool link, visitors access information on Curriculum Pathways^®, which offers online, core curriculum resources for grades 8-12. Visitors can also review the technical requirements, watch online demos and enroll for a school subscription to SAS inSchool's award-winning product.

About Bank of America
The Bank of America Foundation directs charitable giving on behalf of Bank of America and provides grants to nonprofit partners that use creativity and imagination to help America's neighborhoods flourish and communities prosper.

One of the world's leading financial services companies, Bank of America is committed to making banking work for customers and clients like it never has before. Through innovative technologies and the ingenuity of its people, Bank of America provides individuals, small businesses and commercial, corporate and institutional clients across the United States and around the world new and better ways to manage their financial lives. The company enables customers to do their banking and investing whenever, wherever and however they choose through the nation's largest financial services network, including approximately 4,400 domestic offices and 13,000 ATMs, as well as 30 international offices serving clients in more than 150 countries, and an Internet Web site that provides online banking access to 4 million active users, more than any other bank.

Bank of America stock (ticker: BAC) is listed on the New York, Pacific and London stock exchanges. The company's Web site is www.bankofamerica.com. News, speeches and other corporate information may be found at http://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/.

About the N.C. Dept. of Public Instruction
The Department of Public Instruction administers the policies adopted by the State Board of Education and offers support to the public schools in North Carolina.

About SAS inSchool
SAS inSchool was established in 1996 as a research and development project at SAS. Since that time, it has been listed among the top software programs by Technology & Learning, the Gateway to Educational Materials, the Southern Regional Education Board, and other national consortia. For three years, it has won the Technology and Learning Award of Excellence. SAS inSchool offers Web-based instructional software for 208 topics, including more than 5,000 Web resources and 59 media-rich InterActivities. For more information, see www.SASinSchool.com

About NCaect
The mission of the Association is to provide leadership in educational communications and technology by linking all who hold a common interest in the use of educational technology and its application to the learning process. Presently there are over 1200 members state-wide consisting of school administrators, technology directors and facilitators, media coordinators, and classroom teachers. http://ncaect.org