Bridgeport Schools Receive Holiday Technology Gift
Law firm calls on others to make similar donations
December 21, 2006
BRIDGEPORT — The holidays came a little bit early this year for the Bridgeport School System, and in particular, the seventh grade students at Winthrop School.
The law firm of Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder has donated 15 laptop computers to the Bridgeport school system. The computers will be given to the Winthrop School for use by the seventh grade students.
“We are really excited about this opportunity,” said Coretta K. Dean, Director of Educational Technology, Bridgeport Public Schools. “This is a new adventure for us, to be able to extend learning beyond the classroom and into the home. The school day can now be extended, allowing the students to become more efficient in the technology that encompasses our daily lives.”
The 15 laptops will be a part of a lending library — students will be able to sign out the laptops and take them home at night to do their assignments, returning the computers the next day.
“We are proud to be able to make this donation to the Bridgeport school system,” said Atty. Richard Bieder of Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder. “The gift of these laptops goes far beyond the initial exchange. They will provide a new learning experience for the children and enable them to compete with other students who already have access to this technology in their own homes.”
“This contribution follows a line of community projects initiated by Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder in Bridgeport. Those projects include:
Attorneys and Businesses for a Better Connecticut, which offers an opportunity for part-time employment in law firms and professional businesses to Bridgeport young adults who would otherwise not have access to such employment. The results of that pilot project exceeded all expectations – employing 25 applicants over a two-year period, each of whom received hourly pay exceeding typical wages offered to such applicants. That program now has none business and law firm sponsors, including: Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder, Pullman & Comley LLC, Cohen & Wolff P.C., Durant, Nichols, Houston, Hodgson & Cortese-Costa, P.C., Green & Gross P.C., Costello & McCormack P.C., Peoples Bank and Innovative Display and Designs.
The KKB Scholarship Fund through the Housatonic Community College Foundation provides scholarships for young adults holding part time jobs, helping to enable them to attend and succeed at college.
Koskoff also is coordinating a pilot project in Bridgeport to bring fuller arts programs to the elementary schools in Bridgeport.
“Learning can no longer end at the close of the school day,” said Dean. “Not all of our students have a computer at home, but with the lending library, teachers can give computer-based assignments and the young people now will have an equal opportunity to complete them. This is an important step in closing the technology gap between the urban students and suburban students.”
Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder, nationally known for commercial litigation, class actions and medical malpractice, has some of the largest jury awards in Connecticut history. The firm specializes in helping people who suffer serious personal injury or economic harm from medical malpractice, dangerous products, negligence, drunk drivers, corporate or governmental abuse and commercial misconduct.
Attorneys from Koskoff have been responsible for important changes in the conduct of corporate and governmental defendants in addition to recovering substantial compensation for seriously injured individuals. Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder also has offices in Bridgeport and New Haven and a web site at www.koskoff.com.