SWC Technology Partners, Microsoft Store at Oakbrook Center and Alain Locke Charter School Come Together to Spread Good Cheer this Holiday Season
Oak Brook, Ill (PRWEB) December 19, 2016 -- SWC Technology Partners, an award-winning provider of IT solutions for mid-market organizations, has worked with Microsoft Store at Oakbrook Center and Alain Locke Charter School to spread cheer this season to local professionals and holiday shoppers alike. Fifty students from Alain Locke Charter School’s All-Star Choir and Band travelled from their campus in Chicago’s East Garfield Park to Oak Brook for a performance of holiday songs at SWC Technology Partners headquarters. Following a visit with the SWC team, the students performed an encore at the Microsoft Store at Oakbrook Center for staff and customers to enjoy.
SWC has partnered with Alain Locke Charter School since 2011 on initiatives to enhance the lives of the students by providing solutions and IT expertise to progress the school’s educational technology and infrastructure, helping Alain Locke stay competitive with today’s scholastic demands. SWC has also become part of the school community by participating in various fundraising and volunteer activities throughout year.
Alain Locke is located in Chicago's historically underserved neighborhood of East Garfield Park, and serves a population of 568 students in pre-K-8, which is 99% African-American and 95% low-income.
“Throughout the organization, employees cite the opportunity to work with Alain Locke as one of their favorite activities to be a part of” said Bob Knott, President of SWC Technology Partners. “Our partnership with Alain Locke is one of the more rewarding activities we as a company have the opportunity to participate in, and we are honored to supplement the hard work Alain Locke is doing to improve education and shape these future leaders.”
Alain Locke is consistently recognized for academic achievement and was recently named one of the Top 5 Charter Elementary Schools by Chicago Magazine. Alain Locke students consistently outperform national averages, especially in language arts and mathematics, and recently attained the third highest combined average score amongst all Chicago elementary schools on the PARRC achievement test.
“We’ve partnered with SWC for many years, and the partnership has allowed our students to have more access to technology and computers than they’ve ever had before.” said Patrick Love, Principal of Alain Locke Charter School. “This access has really helped our students grow academically.”
As a gesture of appreciation each year, the Alain Locke All-Star Choir and Band visit the SWC offices in Oak Brook to sing holiday songs for the entire building to enjoy.
“Our students work so hard not only academically, but in the arts as well.” Love continued, “It is always a privilege to share their gifts with others.”
This year, Microsoft Store at Oakbrook Center gave students the opportunity to spread the holiday cheer even further by arranging for the students to share their gift at the store. After the performance, the Microsoft Store prepared an afternoon of activities for the students.
This holiday season isn’t the first time SWC, Microsoft and Alain Locke have come together. In 2012, SWC led an initiative with Microsoft to transform the school’s entire technology infrastructure. Microsoft provided the school with new software while SWC donated new hardware and consultative services.
Alain Locke is on an ambitious mission right now to get 600 or more books in every classroom. To get involved by donating to the book drive visit alainlocke.org/donate. Alain Locke has a challenge grant that will match dollar for dollar up to $25,000 for books.
About SWC Technology Partners
SWC Technology Partners is an award-winning business technology consultancy, providing IT solutions for midsize organizations. For more than 35 years, SWC has excelled at helping Midwest organizations harness technology to drive innovation and accelerate business transformation. SWC specializes in matching technology solutions with the needs of mid-market organizations, including Cloud Computing, Managed Services, Data Analytics and Business Intelligence, End-User Enablement, Infrastructure Solutions, Software Solutions and Digital Marketing. Our focus is to identify our clients’ business goals first, then leverage our team of business and technology experts to partner in their success. To learn more, visit SWC.com.
About Alain Locke Charter School
Alain Locke Charter School is part of Accelerate Institute, which maintains the singular focus of closing the achievement gap by creating high-impact school leaders that accelerate student achievement. Alain Locke is one of four innovative programs: The Ryan Fellowship, which identifies and selects the most highly qualified educators, and prepares them through a yearlong fellowship to become transformational leaders for urban charter schools nationwide; The Accelerator Principal program, which trains sitting principals alongside Ryan Fellows; The Ryan Award, a national award recognizing principals who have demonstrated accelerated results in underserved schools; and Alain Locke Charter School. To learn more about the Accelerate Institute, please visit accelerateinstitute.org.
Matt Charoenrath, SWC Technology Partners, http://www.swc.com, +1 630-371-9452, [email protected]
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