Honoring Cisco Systems, Inc. for investing in our public school children through the development and implementation of the Cisco Networking Academy Program in Philadelphia.

WHEREAS, Cisco adopted e-learning in the early 1990s and created a program to design practical, cost-effective networks for public schools throughout the country. At seminars, Cisco taught teachers and staff how to use, maintain, and upgrade their systems; and

WHEREAS, The success of these seminars led many schools to request a curriculum from Cisco to use as an elective course in their own schools. The result was the Cisco Networking Academy Program that currently operates over 5,700 academies in the United States and in over 100 other countries; and

WHEREAS, The Network Academy program is an e-learning model that delivers Web-based education content, online testing, student performance tracking, and instructor training and support. In our highly technological world, students who participate in the program learn how to build and maintain computer networks and design Web sites; and

WHEREAS, The Philadelphia School District began using the Network Academy Program during the 1997-98 school year. The first Network Academy class started at University City High School, giving a small group of students a novel career building experience using the Cisco Certified Networking Associate (CCNA) curriculum; and

WHEREAS, Today, the School District has increased its enrollment to 1,800 students in Cisco’s Network Academy Program at over 30 public schools in the City. Students can also earn college credit for Cisco Networking Academy classes toward their studies at the Community College of Philadelphia, and

WHEREAS, Cisco is committed to seeing students begin a successful career as networking professionals. A growing number of Cisco Networking Academy graduates have worked with Smith Barney, the University of Pennsylvania, and the New York Institute of Technology; and

WHEREAS, Network Academy students and instructors have teamed with Cisco Engineers to help design networks free of charge, and install donated state-of-the-art data and telecommunications networking technology to some of Philadelphia’s community-based organizations; and

WHEREAS, Philadelphia Children’s Services and Philly Cares are both Community-based organizations that lacked adequate IT infrastructure to properly serve their clients; and

WHEREAS, Cisco Engineers have volunteered on many Saturdays to train Network Academy students and their teachers, assisting with the installation of the more than $100K of donated equipment to bridge the technology gap at these Community-based organizations and to afford them the use of the industry’s latest voice and data integration technology; and

WHEREAS, Cisco Systems has contributed over $5 million in the form of lab equipment, curricula, vendor discounts, and instructor training to the City for the implementation of the Cisco Network Academy Program that continues to positively impact the lives of our public school children; now therefore

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby honor Cisco Systems, Inc., for investing in our public school children and our Community-based organizations through their tireless development of Network Academy Programs in our Philadelphia public schools;

FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to representatives of Cisco Systems, Inc. for their efforts in improving the education of our public school children.

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