$400,000 in education grants announced
September 9, 2010
Contact: Lizette J. Olmos, 202-833-6130 ext 16
By Georgia Pabst of the Journal Sentinel
More than $400,000 in grants to assist in educating minorities were announced today at the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) of Wisconsin "Better Education" forum at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts.
The grants were announced by LULAC state director Darryl D. Morin at the luncheon attended by nearly 200 persons from various minority communities, universities and community organizations who discussed ways to bridge the educational achievement gap.
At the luncheon, Michael Wotorson, executive director of the Campaign for High School Equity, urged those from the various minority communities to "lock arms and join hands and come together to construct solutions, in education for us and our kids."
He called education an emerging civil rights issue.
The largest grant announced is $300,000 from CSC Learning, a Chicago-based e-learning and consulting firm that specializes in scientifically-based programs to assist school children.
In partnership with LULAC, the company will provide $300,000 in software and support grants that LULAC will award to community-based organizations in the African American, Asian, Hispanic and Native American communities in the state, said Morin.
LULAC will take applications from community-based organizations and award the grants competitively, he said.
The Brown Deer School System piloted the use of this CSC Learning programs during summer school this year, said Supt. Deborah Kerr, who attended the luncheon.
It's the first school system in Wisconsin to use the system, said Caroline Sanchez Crozier, president of CSC Learning. More than 700 schools in Chicago use the programs, Crozier said.
Kerr said the system allows students to be assessed to determine their level in reading, for example. "Then the teachers can work with groups, depending on their scores and help them set goals and benchmarks for improvement," she said. "It's a wonderful tool to assist teachers and students love it because it's technology-based," she said.
In addition, LULAC will receive a $20,000 from the Ford Motor Company Fund that will be matched by $20,000 from the Milwaukee Area Technical College to help address high school dropout rates among Latino students.
LULAC also received another $40,000 from the Campaign from High School Equity to help organize and operate parent involvement initiatives in schools in southeastern Wisconsin.
And $25,000 grant was received by LULAC from Time Warner Cable to help form a technology center at La Casa de Esperanza in Waukesha.
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