Posted on February 2, 2012

GE Foundation Awards $18 Million to Student Achievement Partners

The GE Foundation has announced a four-year, $18 million grant to Student Achievement Partners to assist states nationwide in implementing the Common Core State Standards.

The grant will enable the New York City-based nonprofit to launch several efforts aimed at helping educators achieve the standards, including a Web site featuring free resources designed to support teacher understanding and implementation of the standards; direct collaboration with teachers on the production and sharing of examples and best instructional practices; Standards Immersion Institutes, which will cultivate expert teachers who can build knowledge in their districts and states; tools to track implementation and evaluate the quality of student work; and partnerships with a network of nonprofits to provide ongoing technical support to district and state leaders.

Developed with assistance from Student Achievement Partners, the Core Standards aim to boost K-12 student success in college and careers by setting common, rigorous expectations for students in literacy and math. To date, forty-six states have adopted the standards.

"This is a great day for the education reform movement and specifically for the momentum behind the Common Core State Standards," said Student Achievement Partners founding partner David Coleman. "The GE Foundation is going deep in this work and its commitment to improving public education for all students is exactly what it is going to take to seed real and lasting change, especially during these tough economic times."