{"97241":{"#nid":"97241","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Blank Family Foundation Provides Grant for Mentoring Program","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMinorities and young women in middle and high school may avoid science and math -- even when they have interest and talent in those areas. A new Georgia Tech mentoring program, funded with a $50,000 grant from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, aims to help these students realize their potential.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe grant will support Mentoring for Success, a pilot program for sixth through twelfth graders in the City Schools of Decatur. The Decatur students will be paired with students from Georgia Tech and the Atlanta University Center schools.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDecatur was chosen for the program because it is a good school system with a mix of students of different races and incomes, said Paul Ohme, director of the Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC) at Georgia Tech. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough the system\u0027s test scores are solid as a whole, African American students tend to score lower in math and science, Ohme said. Also, minority students and girls do not enroll in higher-level science and math courses as frequently. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022These young people who have not taken these courses and have not challenged their minds may not be in a position to compete in the economy later on,\u0022 Ohme said. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022This is an exciting opportunity for both our students and our teachers,\u0022 said Jane Carriere, mathematics and science coordinator for the City Schools of Decatur. \u0022We welcome Georgia Tech mentors into our classrooms to work with, challenge, and encourage our students.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe $50,000 grant is for one year, with the possibility of renewal for two years. The program would start by providing mentors for 25 sixth-graders and 25 ninth-graders and would add the same number each year. If the program is successful in Decatur, it will be offered to other school districts in metro Atlanta.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EArthur M. Blank, a co-founder of The Home Depot and owner of the Atlanta Falcons, launched the youth-focused foundation that bears his name in 1995. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAtiba Mbiwan, program officer at the foundation, said Georgia Tech\u0027s stature as a leading technological institution played a role in the decision to award the grant. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022This certainly is an initiative that can make a difference in enhancing education,\u0022 he said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBirgit Burton, who helped secure the Blank Family Foundation grant as director of Foundation Relations in the Office of Development at Georgia Tech, said she is pleased the mentoring program was selected for funding. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We need this support, particularly for these programs that are reach out to the community,\u0022 she said, adding that only about 30 percent of Georgia Tech\u0027s funding comes from the state, and the rest must be raised from private sources.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBlank founded the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation in 1995 to share his civic values and the joy of giving with his family. Since that time, foundation and personal grants have paid total more than $86 million. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor more information, contact Paul Ohme, director of Georgia Tech\u0027s Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing, (404) 894-6179 or \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:paul.ohme@ceismc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Epaul.ohme@ceismc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlso contact Jane Carriere, mathematics and science coordinator for the City Schools of Decatur, (404) 370-4410 ext. 20 or \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jane_carriere@decatur.city.k12.ga.us\u0022\u003Ejane_carriere@decatur.city.k12.ga.us\u003C\/a\u003E.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAtiba Mbiwan, Program Officer for the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, may be reached by calling (404) 239-0600.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"A new, $50,000 grant from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation will pair students in the City Schools of Decatur with mentors from Georgia Tech and the Atlanta University Center schools.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27304","created_gmt":"2002-10-29 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:02:15","author":"Matthew Nagel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2002-10-29T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2002-10-29T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"97251":{"id":"97251","type":"image","title":"CEISMC Mentor Tawana Mapp with Mandisa Anthony","body":null,"created":"1449178133","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:28:53","changed":"1475894709","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:09"}},"media_ids":["97251"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.decatur-city.k12.ga.us\/","title":"City Schools of Decatur"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.blankfoundation.org\/","title":"The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation"},{"url":"http:\/\/cos-web.admin.gatech.edu\/default.htm","title":"Georgia Tech College of Sciences"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ceismc.gatech.edu\/","title":"Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing (CEISMC)"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}