ETS Makes Donation to Assist Schools Impacted by Hurricane Ike

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Austin, TX. (January 16, 2009) —

Educational Testing Service (ETS) presented a $30,000 check to the Texas Region 4 Education Service Center on Monday at an Executive Directors’ meeting of the Regional Education Service Centers in Austin. The money will be shared with Region 5 and will be allocated to purchase educational materials and supplies for schools and districts most affected by Hurricane Ike.

“I greatly appreciate this donation by ETS. It shows the company’s tremendous care and concern for the children and educators of Southeast Texas who are still reeling from Hurricane Ike,” said Robert Scott, Texas State Commissioner of Education. “I know the service centers will quickly put this money to work to help restore normalcy to the lives of these children.”

Many schools were severely damaged by the storm. And with school districts already feeling the pinch in a weakened economy, unexpected natural disasters place an increased burden on schools facing tight budgets.

“At ETS, we operate under a mandate to advance fairness and equity in education,” says Linda Tyler, Associate Vice President, Higher Education and School Assessments, ETS. “And when schools and the students they serve are disadvantaged through no fault of their own because of such a devastating storm, we have an obligation to put our mission to practice and do whatever we can to help.”

“The staff and students of the Gulf Coast school districts are sincerely grateful to ETS,” said Bill McKinney, Executive Director, Region 4. “Unfortunately, unlike the media attention to hurricanes Rita and Katrina that resulted in an outpouring of aid from citizens across the country, the damage and the continuing need for assistance after Hurricane Ike have been mostly overshadowed by recent national events surrounding the economy and politics. The need is still great, and we thank ETS for the help this contribution will provide.”

Region 4 Education Service Center, which serves the greater Houston area, has the largest student population of 20 state service centers established by the Texas Legislature in 1967. Region 4 is responsible for educating more than 1 million students in 54 school districts. Region 5 Education Service Center serves six counties in southeast Texas that comprise 30 public school districts with more than 80,000 students.

About ETS

At nonprofit ETS, we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English language learning, and elementary, secondary and post-secondary education, as well as conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually — including the TOEFL® and TOEIC® tests, the GRE® test and The Praxis Series™ assessments — in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide.