Representatives from the School District of Philadelphia and Microsoft Corp. today broke ground on the School of the Future and cracked open a new era for the marriage of technology and education. The new high school will embody innovation, technology, and research and development throughout the entire facility. The School of the Future, which is expected to open in 2006, will be the first school of its kind designed to be a sustainable and replicable model for improved instructional development through the use of technology. The estimated $50 million in total project costs is being funded by the District's capital program and supported with human resources and technical assistance through Microsoft's Partners in Learning (PiL) initiative.

"To ensure that our students have every opportunity to embrace the potential in their future, we need to approach education with a community effort rooted in business practices," said Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell. "With the support and help of Microsoft, the Philadelphia School of the Future will provide a unique learning experience for many students and an example for other schools to learn and adopt from."