CHICAGO (December 13, 2005) All 218 elementary and 40 secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago have received a new color printer free of charge from Lexmark PrintArt, a national, philanthropic initiative designed to expand and enrich the art and cultural education resources of schools, according to Mark Garstki, Director of Technology for the Office of Catholic Schools. The program is sponsored by Lexmark International, Inc., a worldwide developer, manufacturer and supplier of printing and imaging solutions.

“We were examining supplemental resources to improve Fine Arts programs in our schools to complement the new Fine Arts Curriculum that will be published in 2006, when we learned of this program that combines free printers with the study of great works of art,” Garstki noted.

A Lexmark Z615 color inkjet printer and a multilingual CD-ROM with approximately 100 high-resolution works of art from Europe’s finest museums were distributed to a representative of each school during Catholic Schools Leadership meetings held the end of November and early December.

Dr. Nicholas Wolsonovich, Superintendent of Catholic Schools, expressed enthusiasm for the program and the gift of the printers. “Our teachers will be able to use this program in virtually every discipline with the materials provided and each of our 258 schools will certainly benefit from the addition of these fine, new color printers,” Wolsonovich said.

Schools participating in Lexmark PrintArt for one year, automatically receive materials for all subsequent phases of the PrintArt program, including additional art CD-ROMs and teacher guides.

“The Lexmark PrintArt program gives us a unique way to use our passion for printing to help educators provide a quality education. We are pleased to have this opportunity to support education in Chicago,” said Maria Gambrell, Lexmark community relations specialist.

The Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Chicago play a critical role in the life of the community by providing academic excellence and faith formation for students of many races, faiths and backgrounds in elementary and secondary schools in Cook and Lake counties. There are 218 elementary and 40 secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago. To locate a Catholic school in your area and learn more about Catholic education in Cook and Lake counties, visit the Office of Catholic Schools web page on the Archdiocese of Chicago web site at www.archchicago.org