13 Awards to Support Girls in Technical Education and Keep At-Risk Students in School
On the 37th anniversary of Title IX, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett and an all-star line-up of women athletes and scientists for a roundtable discussion on the landmark legislation, and he announced the award of $2.4 million in grants to 13 groups to support projects that will help high school girls gain higher proficiency in math and science.
“These grants go hand-in-glove with our efforts to improve equity and access for women and girls in the classroom and on the playing field,” Duncan said. “While much has been accomplished since Title IX was enacted, we must continue to push for further progress. Fairness and equity continue to be important issues that contribute to gaps in achievement between students. For this reason, the Obama Administration strives to remove the obstacle of gender discrimination as a way to increase access to college and careers for all students.”
The four-year grants were made under the Women’s Educational Equity Act Program within the Department of Education. The program provides financial assistance to enable educational agencies to meet the requirements of Title IX. The grantees were selected from 63 eligible applicants. Grantees received additional points if their projects included activities to help at-risk students meet challenging state academic standards and graduate. All of the awardees will serve females at the secondary level.
Pittsburgh Public Schools, for instance, will follow 348 participating female students from grades nine through 12, as they complete one of seven math-rich career and technical education programs. Pittsburgh is teaming with Smart Futures and the Carnegie Science Center’s Girls, Math & Science Partnership to develop and implement a four-year intensive program titled “Gaining Equity Through Mathematics.”
The 13 grantees and their first-year funding amounts are as follows:
Pittsburgh (Pa.) Public Schools $163,559
Somona State University (Calif.) $190,005
Chicago (Ill.) Public Schools $213,437
Northwest Vista College (Texas) $203,023
Berea College (Ky.) $214,455
North Wasco County SD#21 (Ore.) $213,322
Hmong American Partnership (Minn.) $115,133
Spokane Publc Schools SD#81 (Wash.) $150,020
The Foundation for California State University (Calif.) $164,911
Research Foundation of SUNY (N.Y. ) $201,407
Jefferson County Board of Education (Ky.) $216,062
Adult Learning Programs of Alaska $174,726
Queens Community House (N.Y.) $184,480
