For Immediate Release
September 8, 2008
 

The Hadley School for the Blind and the Motorola Foundation Join Forces 
 to Equip Young People to Excel in Science and Math

Winnetka, IL–– The Hadley School for the Blind, a distance education school serving 11,000 
students worldwide today announced it will receive a $10,000 Innovation Generation grant from 
the Motorola Foundation. The grant will help fund two Hadley courses, offered free of charge to 
students who are blind or visually impaired. The courses will teach basic math and Nemeth code, 
the braille code for mathematics.

The Motorola Foundation’s Innovation Generation grant program seeks to spark students’ interest 
in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and to help develop critical-thinking skills 
for the long term. Providing $4 million to K-12 programs across the U.S. in 2008, the initiative 
supports hands-on, innovative after-school programs, science and math clubs, teacher training 
and mentoring programs. 

“We are honored by Motorola’s commitment to supporting The Hadley School for the Blind’s 
mission of lifelong distance education and serving the blindness community,” said Charles Young, 
president of Hadley. 

The program is further proof of how local initiatives can have a global impact. U.S. student 
achievement in STEM is lagging compared to the rest of the world. Evaluated against 
international competition, fourth-grade students score similarly, but by the time they reach 12th 
grade U.S. students fall near the bottom in math and science.1 By offering courses in the format 
each student is most comfortable with- including braille, large print, audio cassette and online 
formats- and one-on-one instructor-student contact, Hadley is working with Motorola to overturn 
this trend.

“By showing students the real-world applications of concepts they learn in the classroom, 
Innovation Generation programs open their eyes to possibilities,” said Eileen Sweeney, director of 
the Motorola Foundation. “Programs like Hadley’s mathematics courses develop students’ 
confidence and skills to succeed in a sophisticated world and a dynamic and competitive global 
marketplace.” 

Since 2000, the Motorola Foundation has contributed more than $35 million to education 
initiatives with a focus on STEM. For more information on the Innovation Generation grant 
program please visit www.motorola.com/giving. For additional information on Hadley’s new 
mathematics courses please visit www.hadley.edu. 

Contact: 
Josie Whetstone
847-784-2751
Josie@hadley.edu

About The Hadley School for the Blind
The Hadley School for the Blind is the single largest worldwide distance educator of blind and 
visually impaired people. Since its founding by William Hadley and Dr. E.V.L. Brown in 1920, all 
of Hadley's distance education courses have been provided free of charge to blind and visually 
impaired students and their families. Today, the school serves more than 11,000 students 
annually in all 50 states and 100 countries. Hadley relies on contributions from individuals, 
foundations and corporations to fund its programs. Visit us on the Web at www.hadley.edu.

About the Motorola Foundation 
The Motorola Foundation is the charitable and philanthropic arm of Motorola. With employees 
located around the globe, Motorola seeks to benefit the communities where it operates. The 
company achieves this by making strategic grants, forging strong community partnerships, 
fostering innovation and engaging stakeholders. The Motorola Foundation focuses its funding on 
education, especially science, technology, engineering and math programming. For more 
information, on Motorola Corporate and Foundation giving, visit www.motorola.com/giving. 

1 According to the National Center for Education’s Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003, 
the most recent report available. Next report will be issued December 2008.

# # #