The grant, the largest non-government grant awarded to the school district, is designed to improve student achievement and increase college readiness through comprehensive school/business/community collaboration.

The grant was announced this morning at Strong Vincent High School to a crowd of 900 guests, which included students, teachers, parents and special guests. In attendance was Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, Bob Corcoran - President of the GE Foundation, John Dineen - President & CEO of GE Transportation, Bill Conaty, Senior Vice President, GE Human Resources, Dr. James E. Barker, School District of Erie Superintendent, Carol Laskowski - President of the Erie Education Association and Rebecca Martin - President of the Board of Education.

The grant is part of the GE Foundation's College Bound District Program (CBDP), a $100 million dollar investment to help increase the number of college ready students in targeted school districts across the country.

"The GE Foundation's $15 million vote of confidence in the students, teachers, administrators and board will enable the Erie School District to accelerate its efforts of building a world-class learning opportunity for all students," said Dr. Barker. "This significant event in Pennsylvania's educational history will break the sound barrier of accomplishments in math, science and technology for the students and families of Erie. Thanks to the GE Foundation's College Bound District Program, the Erie School District will deliver internationally competitive graduates. A brighter future will be illuminated with our new global partners, the GE Foundation and GE - Transportation."

"We are delighted that the GE Foundation has chosen to support the Erie school district," said John Dineen, president and CEO of GE Transportation. "For 100 years, GE has been an integral part of the Erie community. This grant helps us celebrate the past while planting a seed for our community's future. We all benefit when students are better educated in the areas of math and science."

Final work to receive the grant started more than six months ago by a grant writing team made of up SDCE employees and GE leaders. During that time, the team outlined a detailed five-year enhancement plan with means of measuring progress and success. As a result, actions to be taken through the grant are aligned with the district's overall strategic plan.

The plan recognizes that both professional development and professional learning communities are essential to the CBDP's success. Teachers will have many opportunities to increase their content knowledge, enhance their technology skills, and collaborate with other educators to elevate the quality of instruction. These efforts will create a more effective learning environment and experience for students. The grant also outlines a plan to incorporate GE Volunteers and the entire Erie community to support the students and teachers impacted by the CBDP.

In 2006, the GE Foundation awarded the Stamford, Connecticut school district a $15 million grant and a $20 million to the public school system of Cincinnati, Ohio. The Foundation began the CBDP in 2005 with a $25 million grant to the Louisville, Kentucky school district. The amount of the grants is based on the size and unique needs of each school district.

The College Bound Program enables school districts to improve in six areas: curriculum, professional development, management capacity, constituency engagement, GE volunteers, and evaluation - General Electric.