STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Stamford Public School district has been awarded a $15.3 million, five-year grant from the GE Foundation's College Bound District Program, the district and the Company announced today. The grant, the largest non-government grant in the district's history, is designed to improve student achievement and increase college readiness through comprehensive school/business/community collaboration.
The grant was announced at a news conference at the Stamford Government Center by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joshua P. Starr, Board of Education President Susan Nabel, and Deborah Reif, president and CEO of GE Equipment Services, which is headquartered on Long Ridge Road in Stamford.
The grant is part of the GE Foundation's College Bound District Program (CBDP), a $100 million dollar investment to help increase the number of college ready students in targeted school districts across the country.
"Stamford Public Schools is committed to preparing every child to graduate ready for college with 21st century knowledge and skills," said Dr. Starr. "GE's "College Bound" investment in Stamford will allow us to make improvements we could not afford within our budget for day-to-day operations. Not only will we be able to implement rigorous math and science curricula, we also will be able to create a culture of high expectations for all students. Those efforts, along with the district's commitment to differentiated instruction and social emotional learning, will increase college readiness throughout the district and fulfill the missions of both the district and the GE Foundation."
"GE is very much a part of the Stamford community, with five of our businesses based here, numerous employees residing in town, and many GE employees volunteering their time and effort to the City's community organizations," said Deborah Reif, "and we are delighted that the GE Foundation has chosen to support the Stamford school district." As part of GE's support for the district, one of Equipment Services' senior employees, Education Strategy Manager Dudley Williams, is working full-time on implementing the College Bound grant.
Work to receive the grant was begun more than a year ago by district administrators, teachers, the Stamford Education Association, the Stamford Administrative Unit, national education consultants, and GE leaders with the help of a $900,000 planning grant from the GE Foundation. The pre-grant planning resulted in a detailed five-year improvement plan with means of measuring progress and success. As a result, actions to be taken through the grant are aligned with the district's overall strategic plan.
The plan recognizes that both professional development and professional learning communities are essential to the CBDP's success. Teachers will have many opportunities to increase their content knowledge, enhance their technology skills, and collaborate with other educators to elevate the quality of instruction. These efforts will create a more effective learning environment and experience for students.
The GE Foundation awarded the Stamford grant concurrently with a $20 million grant to the public school system of Cincinnati, Ohio. The Foundation began the CBDP last year with a $25 million grant to the Louisville, Kentucky school district. Both districts are significantly larger than Stamford.
The College Bound Program enables school districts to improve in six areas: curriculum, professional development, management capacity, constituency engagement, GE volunteers, and evaluation. For more information on the College Bound Program, go to http://www.ge.com/foundation.
The Stamford Public School district is the fifth largest in Connecticut with 15,450 students and 20 schools.
The GE Foundation, the philanthropic organization of the General Electric Company, works to strengthen educational access, equity, and quality for disadvantaged youth globally and supports GE employee and retiree giving and involvement in GE communities around the world.
Contacts
Public Affairs Officer
Sarah Arnold, 203-977-4095
or
GE Equipment Services
David Frail, 203-961-2281