Verizon has announced a new partnership between its digital education initiative Verizon Innovative Learning and TIME aimed at addressing barriers to inclusion.

Over the last decade, the Verizon Innovative Learning initiative has directed nearly $1 billion in support of digital equity and inclusion within the education field for some of the most vulnerable populations across the country. Marking its 10-year anniversary, the initiative will collaborate with TIME to present the TIME Innovative Teachers Project. Chosen by a team of editors at TIME, the project profiles 10 teachers who are changing the landscape of education in America. In addition, Verizon will add 50 Title I schools to Verizon Innovative Learning during the fall.

“We understood early on that closing the digital skills gap in the U.S. must start in under-resourced schools. Verizon Innovative Learning is a strategy to help solve this issue. Our mission has never wavered and now, 10 years later, we are proud to have reached nearly 1.5 million students. This is an important milestone, yet our work is far from over,” said Verizon chief corporate social responsibility officer Rose Stuckey Kirk. “We will continue expanding and evolving this initiative to ensure that deserving students have the tech tools and resources to become the next generation of innovators.”

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