News Releases

Get Schooled Initiative Launches – Aimed At Broadening Americans’ Engagement in

Solving the Education Crisis

Hollywood , Calif. – Sept. 8, 2009 – Viacom (NYSE: VIA and VIA .B) and the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, along with initiative partners AT&T, Capital One Financial Corporation and NYSE
Euronext, today launched Get Schooled with a national broadcast and an education conference
at the Paramount Pictures lot. The five-year initiative aims to generate greater awareness and
engagement in addressing the nation’s education crisis and to offer practical resources and
support to students.
 
“We couldn’t be having this conversation at a better time,” said Bill Gates, Co-chair of the Gates
Foundation. “The education crisis is damaging our ability to compete in the global economy, and
we need to do more to engage all Americans – from policymakers and corporate leaders to
families and young people – in our efforts to support students in completing their education and
achieving their dreams.”
 
The Get Schooled initiative also announced today the results of a poll conducted by The Winston
Group showing that an overwhelming percentage of Americans believe that the United States is
lagging behind other nations when it comes to the quality of education. Eighty-one percent of
survey respondents said that they do not believe that the United States has the best public
education system in the world. Eighty-nine percent believe that if American students are not
receiving as good of an education as their overseas counterparts, it will have a negative effect on
the American economy.
 
"We are committed to raising awareness and, even more importantly, to converting that
awareness into action,” said Philippe Dauman, President and CEO of Viacom. “Improving the
workforce readiness of America ’s upcoming generations is a business imperative. By 2020, our
nation may be short 14 million college-educated workers, and the trends are moving against us.
 
The cost to the U.S. economy of students unprepared to enter college and the workforce is
estimated at close to $4 billion dollars annually in lost wages and remedial education costs. But
the long-term cost is exponentially greater."

From 2006 to 2016 there will be more than two million new jobs created requiring at least an
associate degree or postsecondary training, according to the New Democratic Leadership
Council. However, the reality is that two-thirds of American ninth graders will not be prepared for
college within four years, and half of those who actually go to college will never earn a degree.
 
“Investing in a well-educated workforce may be the single most important thing we can do to help
the U.S. remain a leader in the global economy,” said Charlene Lake , Senior Vice President for
Public Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer for AT&T. “If we come together as business leaders,
policymakers, parents and as a community, we can ensure that today’s students have the skills
and knowledge for meaningful careers, and that American businesses have a deep and diverse
talent pool from which to hire. AT&T is proud to be a partner in Get Schooled.”
 
As part of Get Schooled’s mission to foster a national dialogue on education issues, AT&T is
organizing “screening parties” and discussions around the premiere of the TV broadcast of Get
Schooled: You Have the Right. Local events, organized with community partners, will take place
in 14 cities across the nation.
 
"NYSE Euronext is proud to partner with all the sponsors of the Get Schooled initiative. Improving
America 's education system is critically important to the future of our children and our prosperity,"
said Duncan L. Niederauer, CEO of NYSE Euronext. “To continue developing future generations
of innovators and investors, we must ensure that our young people are equipped with the
necessary skills to compete in the global marketplace and succeed in life. At NYSE Euronext, we
have a long-standing commitment to financial literacy, and we are pleased to offer our expertise
and brand behind this great initiative."
 
"At Capital One we recognize that one of the most important investments we can make in the
future is an investment in education," said Carolyn Berkowitz, President of Capital One
Foundation and Vice President for Community Affairs at Capital One. "We are proud to support
programs like Get Schooled to help reinforce the importance of financial literacy. Our goal is to
help give students a solid foundation of money management knowledge and skills so that they
can make wise financial choices in the future.”
 
The launch of Get Schooled, at the Paramount Pictures lot, includes a conference featuring a
line-up of distinguished speakers: Bill Gates, Philippe Dauman , U.S. Deputy Secretary of
Education Tony Miller, filmmaker Davis Guggenheim, author and political columnist Arianna
Huffington, New York City Department of Education Chancellor Joel Klein and Los Angeles-area
High School Athletic Director Stephen Minix. The education conference will be attended by an
audience of almost one thousand – including corporate and nonprofit partners, students, thought
leaders, celebrities and other education stakeholders. Its goal is to highlight fresh perspectives on
ways to dramatically increase high school graduation rates and college completion rates. The
speakers will draw from their personal and professional experiences, sharing insights on how to
ensure that all students receive a top-notch education and are ready to compete in a global
marketplace.
 
The launch events on the Paramount Pictures lot also include the premiere of the Get Schooled:
You Have the Right documentary featuring President Barack Obama, Kelly Clarkson and LeBron
James, and three professionals who work alongside them, which will air across all of Viacom’s
U.S. networks, including BET , MTV, VH1, CMT, Comedy Central, Spike TV, TV Land and
Nickelodeon, at 8 p.m. Eastern/Pacific and 7 p.m. Central.
 
EXCERPTS FROM PRESENTATIONS AT THE GET SCHOOLED CONFERENCE
PHILIPPE DAUMAN
"A third of American students drop out of high school… and fewer than 1 in 4 of those who
remain are ready for college when they graduate. That means that out of 100 kids entering high
school, a mere 16 graduate ready for college.
 
“That’s bad news for American students, and it’s bad news for the American economy. Because,
to put it plainly, a high school diploma is no longer a ticket to the American dream. More than half
of all new jobs will require at least some college according to The Bureau of Labor Statistics. And
the median wage for workers with no college is now close to the poverty line for a family of four.
College is the new high school. And yet 8 out of 10 African Americans and nearly 9 out of 10
Latinos do not earn a bachelors degree in the U.S. "
 
TONY MILLER
“The President has said repeatedly that the nation that out-teaches us today will out-compete us
tomorrow. We cannot allow that to happen. We won’t allow that to happen.”
 
JOEL KLEIN
“For years, the conversation around public education has been that we as a nation will never fix
our schools until we fix poverty. That is so backwards. So we have to change the conversation.
The real truth is, we will never fix poverty in America until we fix our schools. I know this, not just
from my work over the past seven years in New York City , but from my own life story.”
“Our teachers have one of the most difficult and one of the most important jobs in the world. We
should support them, while also realizing that they are not all equally effective. That’s why we
must insist upon real accountability for our educators.”
ARIANNA HUFFINGTON
“Maybe instead of calling for an exorcist any time the words "competition," or "choice" are used in
connection to education, we can start singing hosannas for an idea that preserves what is truly
public in public education – the government, i.e. the public, paying for it – while allowing creativity
and innovation to flourish.”
STEPHEN MINIX
“The kids at Locke are an inspiration to me. They are proof that the resiliency of youth combined
with the efforts of educators and the community make for an unstoppable force. I challenge you
as leaders in your professional fields to continue this trend. What can you do to help right the
ship? It is imperative that we all put our efforts into improving the educational experiences for our
most needy kids. This will result in a more prepared and educated future for our country.”
 

ABOUT THE WINSTON GROUP POLL
The Winston Group survey of 1,000 voters nationwide probed Americans’ views about education.
The telephone survey was conducted Aug. 23-27, 2009 and has a margin of error of +/- 3.1%.

ABOUT GET SCHOOLED
Get Schooled is a national program that connects, inspires and mobilizes people – from
policymakers and corporate leaders to communities and kids – to find effective solutions to the
problems facing our education system. It provides resources and information, community
outreach and creative programming that engage a range of audiences to address America ’s
education crisis. Get Schooled’s co-developers are the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and
Viacom, including BET Networks, MTV Networks and Paramount Pictures. The initiative
combines the Foundation’s deep knowledge of education reform with the power of Viacom’s
diverse brands to raise awareness about the challenges facing America ’s public education
system and provide information and solutions for students and their families.
To find out more about Get Schooled and the initiative’s groundbreaking national television
premiere airing today, visit www.getschooled.com.

 
Media Contacts:
Brunswick Group
Maria Figueroa Kupcu Katie Foley
(212) 333-3810 (917) 257-4730
mkupcu@brunswickgroup.com kfoley@brunswickgroup.com
 
Viacom Paramount Pictures
Jeremy Zweig Patti Rockenwagner
(212) 846-7503 (323) 956-5011
jeremy.zweig@viacom.com patricia_rockenwagner@paramount.com
 
Gates Foundation
media@gatesfoundation.org