CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS December 7, 2007 Be there as the excitement unfolds for hundreds of Coastal Bend students who are eagerly anticipating recounting to Santa Claus their many good deeds via videoconference on Monday, December 10th thru Wednesday, December 12th. The Education Service Center, Region 2 (ESC-2) will host a live interaction between K – 2nd grade students and Santa Claus at the “North Pole” (a.k.a. ESC-2 facilities). Videoconferencing technologies will allow students from Beeville ISD, Driscoll ISD, San Diego ISD, Sinton ISD, Taft ISD and Tuloso-Midway ISD to dial the “North Pole” from their respective classrooms to visit with Santa.

See the children’s happy faces as Santa reads letters that the students have prepared detailing how “good” they have been this year. Santa, Mrs. Clause, and his elf will sing Christmas carols and answer questions such as, “How do your reindeer fly?”, “What if I don’t have a chimney?”, and “Which are your favorite cookies?”. All activities are conducted live via videoconference so that the children can see and hear Santa, Mrs. Claus and Elf Em in real time.

ESC-2 Distance Learning Coordinator, Lori Genzer says of Operation Santa Claus, “We have grown accustomed to having children come to the classroom for learning, but videoconferencing technology has really provided us with more opportunities to take the classroom to them. Operation Santa Claus is yet another exciting example of the positive impact that distance learning has had on local school districts.”