Best Buy Awards More Than $3 Million to Schools for Creative Use of In

Best Buy Awards More Than $3 Million to Schools for Creative Use of Interactive Technology

    Business Editors

    MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 20, 2005--

1167 Te@ch Awards Support Efforts to Make Learning More Fun for Students; Applications for Next Round of Gifts Available in July
    Best Buy today announced that this spring, more than $3 million was awarded to 1,167 schools, serving more than 434,000 students across the United States, through its te@ch program. Te@ch annually recognizes and rewards schools across the United States with $2,500 gifts for the creative integration of interactive technology into classrooms, making learning more fun and engaging for students.
    "We believe we can help build stronger communities by supporting kids and learning," said Paula Prahl, vice president of public affairs for Best Buy. "Te@ch awards schools and teachers for using technology to make their curriculum and their classrooms come alive."
    Winning applications came from a variety of classrooms, including kindergarten teachers, those teaching advanced classes for high-school seniors and those teaching special education for kids with developmental disabilities. Winners applied interactive technology to a broad span of subject matters including social studies, science and English.
    For example, at John Bapst Memorial High School (Bangor, Maine) seniors studying physics used video cameras to record real-life motion of objects and then applied software to analyze the motions and create mathematical models. And, after second graders at Janney Elementary School (Washington, D.C.), learned about Hurricane Ivan's destruction of a grassroots chocolate factory in Grenada, they researched the chocolate-making process and published their findings in a book using interactive software.
    Prahl said, "Te@ch links learning and interactive technology in classrooms to make learning more fun for kids. The more excited and involved students are in their education, the more they'll learn."

Te@ch Awards (by state)(a):

STATE AWARDS TOTAL VALUE STATE AWARDS TOTAL VALUE ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Alabama 8 $20,000 Montana 2 $5,000 Alaska 20 $50,000 Nebraska 6 $15,000 Arizona 9 $22,500 Nevada 5 $12,500 Arkansas 1 $2,500 New Hampshire 8 $20,000 California 122 $305,000 New Jersey 32 $80,000 Colorado 24 $60,000 New Mexico 7 $17,500 Connecticut 18 $45,000 New York 91 $227,500 Delaware 8 $20,000 North Carolina 26 $65,000 D.C. 49 $250,000 North Dakota 6 $15,000 Florida 64 $160,000 Ohio 26 $65,000 Georgia 34 $85,000 Oklahoma 11 $27,500 Idaho 10 $25,000 Oregon 6 $15,000 Illinois 45 $112,500 Pennsylvania 37 $92,500 Indiana 36 $90,000 Rhode Island 6 $15,000 Iowa 6 $15,000 South Carolina 14 $35,000 Kansas 7 $17,500 South Dakota 6 $15,000 Kentucky 14 $35,000 Tennessee 13 $32,500 Louisiana 24 $60,000 Texas 82 $205,000 Maine 9 $22,500 Utah 21 $52,500 Maryland 10 $25,000 Vermont 2 $5,000 Massachusetts 30 $75,000 Virginia 32 $80,000 Michigan 44 $110,000 Washington 30 $75,000 Minnesota 53 $132,500 West Virginia 1 $2,500 Mississippi 3 $7,500 Wisconsin 23 $57,500 Missouri 26 $65,000

(a) A listing of winning schools is available at www.BestBuy.com/teach

    Applications

    Applications for te@ch awards are accepted from July through September. All accredited, public and private nonprofit elementary, middle and secondary schools located within 25 miles of a Best Buy store are eligible. Each year, Best Buy commits $3 million to schools across the nation to enhance interactive technology programs through te@ch. For more details about the te@ch awards, please visit www.BestBuy.com/teach. Applications for the next round of te@ch are scheduled to be available July 5, 2005 and will be due September 30, 2005.

    About Best Buy's Community Commitment

    As partners in our communities, Best Buy works to encourage ideas and confront challenges. Through its many philanthropic activities, Best Buy extends its support in times of celebration and in times of need. Last year Best Buy and the Best Buy Children's Foundation donated more than $14 million to its communities (approximately 1.5 percent of its annual pretax earnings). The company encourages local volunteerism by providing charitable gifts to organizations where its employees volunteer, awards annual scholarships to graduating high-school seniors and supports schools using technology to enhance learning through the Best Buy te@ch program. Through the Best Buy Children's Foundation, the company also connects with the United Way to meet local community needs, works with the Red Cross to provide support in times of disaster and supports national organizations innovatively using technology in youth education. In addition, Best Buy is committed environmental responsibility. Last year, the company collected and recycled nearly 1 million pounds of used and obsolete electronic items though special mass collection events and everyday collection of cellular phones, ink jet cartridges and rechargeable batteries. For more information about Best Buy's community relations efforts, visit www.BestBuy.com and click on the "Community Relations" link.

    About Best Buy Co., Inc.

    Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) is an innovative Fortune 100 growth company that continually strives to create superior customer experiences. Through more than 800 retail stores across the United States and in Canada, our employees connect customers with technology and entertainment products and services that make life easier and more fun. We sell consumer electronics, home-office products, entertainment software, appliances and related services. A Minneapolis-based company, our operations include: Best Buy, Future Shop, Geek Squad and Magnolia Audio Video. We support our communities through employee volunteerism and grants from The Best Buy Children's Foundation.

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CONTACT: Best Buy Co., Inc., Minneapolis Media Contact: Dawn Bryant, 612-291-6119 dawn.bryant@bestbuy.com

KEYWORD: MINNESOTA MAINE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS EDUCATION RETAIL PRODUCT SOURCE: Best Buy Co., Inc.

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