ATLANTA, December 22, 2005 — The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation today announced it is awarding more than $1 million in "Pathways to Success" grants to nine organizations that are helping high school students in Atlanta prepare for postsecondary education.
Through community partnerships, Pathways to Success is creating
in-school and out-of-school support programs for students who
attend Atlanta's New Schools at Carver the Southeast’s first
"small high school" campus. The former George Washington
Carver High School was re-designed last year to create a campus
composed of five small academies: the School of the Arts; Technology;
Health Sciences and Research; Entrepreneurship; and Early College.
"Pathways to Success is giving more students at the New Schools
at Carver access to the resources and support services they need
to pursue the education and training that can help them achieve
their life goals," said Penelope McPhee, president of The
Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. "Our grants are just a
beginning. We're hoping the community can reach out to other funders
to make the program sustainable over the long term."
Organizations receiving grants from the Blank Family Foundation are:
- Communities in Schools of Atlanta - $135,000 to recruit, manage and
provide support to a Pathways Partnership Coordinator who will
coordinate Pathways programs, track student and program data,
convene Pathways partners and provide regular updates on Pathways
progress; develop a student performance troupe that will focus
on barriers that prevent postsecondary attainment; implement
the FutureForce Leadership Institute (FFLI), an annual skill
building camp at Emory University that will focus on time management
and the development of organizational and leadership skills;
and provide mentor training to 20 sophomores from the School
of Entrepreneurship using curriculum based on "A High School
Plan for Students with College Bound Dreams", a program
that helps students understand how grades, standardized tests,
aptitude, behavior, community service and other activities factor
into going to the college of their choice.
- FIRST (For Inspiration & Recognition of Science & Technology)
- $75,000 to create a school robotics team, provide workshops
on robotic science and technology and fund the team’s participation
in local and national competitions.
- Georgia Tech Center for Education Integrating Sciences,
Mathematics and Computing - $250,000 to fund the Science,
Math, Engineering and Technology (SMET) program at the Technology
and Health Sciences and Research academies. The program will
offer extended day enrichment and mentoring for ninth-grade
students through sessions led by Georgia Tech undergraduate
and graduate students focusing on utilizing math, science and
computing concepts to solve authentic problems. Participants
will also take an academic skill-building course with a focus
on PSAT/SAT preparation as well as short courses in nanotechnology,
geographic information systems, and biotechnology.
- Junior Achievement of Georgia - $10,000 for an Economics
for Success program that will teach tenth-grade students financial
literacy, expose them to postsecondary education opportunities
in economics, and match them with corporate volunteers who will
mentor them in an after-school economics program.
- National Debate Project/Glenn Pelham Memorial Fund, Inc.
- $68,000 to implement debate initiatives at the New Schools
at Carver. The organization will help the school form a 30 student
debate team. College faculty and students from Emory, Georgia
State, and Clark Atlanta Universities will serve as coaches
and mentors, conduct information sessions on postsecondary requirements,
assist with the completion of college applications, and assist
students in developing arguments for debate competition. The
team will participate in eight weekend tournaments across the
state of Georgia and receive scholarships to attend a two-week
debate camp in the summer of 2006.
- Project GRAD Atlanta, Inc - $262,000 to support a summer
transition program for ninth-graders during the summer of 2006
to help them prepare to enter the New Schools at Carver; provide
after-school tutorial support for ninth and tenth graders for
help with class assignments as well as the Georgia High School
Graduation Test, PSAT, SAT, PLAN, and ACT; train teaching staff
on the TEAM (Teachers as Educational Advisors and Mentors) program;
recruit university professors and professionals to co-teach
with high school teachers in selected core content areas; and
coordinate monthly college tours for tenth graders in the School
of Entrepreneurship. The organization will also serve as an
intermediary partner for the collaborative and the fiscal agent
for New Schools at Carver.
- The Algebra Project - $115,000 to initiate mathematics
literacy programs that will serve all three Pathways sites (Atlanta,
Bluffton, and Phoenix) by offering in-school, after-school and
summer training and instruction. The Project will also provide
professional development training for teachers through a two-week
summer institute focused on classroom instruction and teaching
methods as well as train college and high school youth to serve
as math literacy workers for elementary and middle school students.
- Urban Youth Harp Ensemble - $75,000 to fund harp instruction
and offer summer harp camp scholarships for 20 students in the
School of the Arts conducted in partnership with the Atlanta
Symphony Orchestra.
- Youth Radio - $50,000 to support training 25 students
in public speaking, interviewing skills, media (technical radio),
and intensive journalism. This training will provide students
with behind-the-scenes knowledge of the production and technical
side of radio as well as enhance writing skills by helping students
develop creative and critical thinking skills. Students will
also have the opportunity to make public presentations and act
as freelance correspondents during radio broadcasts on WABE-FM.
"Through the partnerships the Blank Foundation has formed with community organizations, students will now have access to additional hands-on educational resources that will supplement the New Schools at Carver curriculum and accelerate their preparation for any postsecondary option they choose," said Dr. Beverly Hall, superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools.
Pathways to Success was created in 2004 to expand educational opportunities by providing high school students the support they need to pursue postsecondary education. It consists of collaborative partnerships that include high schools, community organizations, and higher education institutions in Atlanta, Georgia; Bluffton, South Carolina; and Phoenix, Arizona three communities in which the Blank family has roots.
Formed in 1995, The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation is focused on improving early childhood development, enhancing education, preserving green space, sustaining the arts and sparking collaboration among its nonprofit partners, primarily in Atlanta.
Arthur M. Blank is owner & CEO of the Atlanta Falcons and Georgia Force. He co-founded The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, in 1978 and retired from the company as co-chairman in 2001. Through his generosity, the foundation, along with Blank and his wife's personal giving, has granted over $220 million to various charitable organizations.
