Statewide Competition Inspires Delaware Students to Sharpen Math Skills

WILMINGTON, Del. -- Delaware students in fourth through eighth grades are learning critical mathematics skills,

thanks to the innovative 24 Challenge Math Program, sponsored by the Verizon Foundation. The state championship

competition in the mental math game will be held Wednesday, May 16, at Wilmington's Riverfront Arts Center.

The finalists earned the right to compete by winning classroom preliminaries in which about 40,000 Delaware students

participated. The program is based on the 24 game, an innovative math-teaching tool that is proven to motivate students

from all socioeconomic backgrounds. In the 24 game competition, students study a card with four numbers printed on it.

They may add, subtract, multiply or divide the numbers to arrive at a total of 24. All four numbers must be used and

each number may be used only once. The answer is always 24. The first student to correctly identify the solution on the

card wins that round.

"Verizon is committed to finding new and more effective ways to develop an educated and skilled workforce,"

said Joshua W. Martin III, president of Verizon Delaware. "This 24 math competition fosters critical reasoning

skills and mental agility. Students enjoy the competition and appreciate the opportunity to demonstrate their

skills."

Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, honorary co-chair of the event, is expected to join business and education officials in

saluting the efforts of all the players. About 200 students are expected to participate in the 24 Challenge Math Program

finals.

Verizon Foundation supports a variety of programs that focus on improving basic and computer literacy, bridging the

digital divide, enriching communities through technology and creating a skilled work force. The foundation promotes

partnerships in technology with organizations serving the needs of diverse communities, people with disabilities, and the

economically and socially disadvantaged. The foundation also supports Verizon Volunteers, an incentive program that

encourages Verizon employees to volunteer in their communities and provides matching gifts to nonprofit organizations.

For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizon.com/foundation

on the Internet.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. Verizon companies

are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with 112 million access line

equivalents and 27 million wireless customers. Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world. A Fortune

10 company with approximately 260,000 employees and more than $65 billion in annual revenues, Verizon's global presence

extends to 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. For more information on Verizon, visit www.verizon.com.

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