MPS to receive training grant from GE Foundation

Milwaukee Public Schools (MP)S) will be one of only seven districts around the country selected to benefit from an $18 million GE Foundation grant to help train teachers and administrators on improved math, science and literacy standards adopted by Wisconsin and more than 40 other states.
Today’s announcement comes after the GE Foundation awarded $20.4 million to MPS last year in a five-year grant to boost math and science education.
“This is another sign that one of the world’s largest companies has faith in the direction in which Milwaukee Public Schools is moving,” MPS Superintendent Gregory Thornton said. “MPS will get the benefit of the top-notch expertise as we work to improve the education of our 80,000 students.”
The new $18 million grant will fund training at MPS and six other districts from Student Achievement Partners, a group involved in the development of the “Common Core Standards” now in place in Wisconsin and elsewhere.
“It brings students in this city, state and country up to the rigor of knowledge that is being expected around the world,” MPS high school teacher John Kish said. “It returns learning back to a process of exploration and using evidence for argument, rather than rote knowledge that, in some cases, education has become.”
Robert Corcoran, president and chair of the GE Foundation and vice president of GE Corporate Citizenship, said, “Our economy is facing an undeniable challenge — good paying jobs are going unfilled because U.S. workers don’t have the skills to fill the positions. We must cultivate a highly educated workforce and we see the (Common Core) Standards as a key component to answering this challenge.”
The earlier GE Foundation grant is being used to train teachers, support struggling students and bolster the district’s Comprehensive Math and Science Plan.
– BizTimes Milwaukee