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CLOSING
THE GAP!
 Southside
High School Gets More Students Ready for College Thanks To
$1,000,000.00 in Grants from the GE Foundation.
Click
here
- pdf to see a presentation on the project.
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Greenville, SC- Representatives from GE Gas Turbines and Greenville
School District’s Southside High School launched a new program in
January, 2002 to help increase the number of Southside graduates going
on to post-secondary education. The initiative began with the help of
a $100,000.00 grant from the GE Foundation.
“Southside has developed a comprehensive approach, with a focus on
incoming freshmen, that will be extremely effective in preparing its
students, in some cases first generation college-bound seniors, for
college and instilling an interest to go beyond high school and reach
their full potential,” said then Greenville School District
Superintendent Dr. William Harner. “We are extremely grateful for the
partnership between GE and Southside. This effort is critical in
reducing the number of ninth grade dropouts, and plays a major role in
goal one of our Education Plan, which is to improve student
performance.”
Over the next 4 years, Southside received an additional $600,000.00 in
grants from the GE Foundation. In March, 2006, the GE Foundation
awarded Southside another grant for $300,000.00 with $150,000 for the
2006-2007 and 2007-2008 school years. This brings the total funds
awarded from the GE Foundation to $1,000,000.00.
The grant programs include a three-week Freshman Transition class to
help incoming freshman with low reading or math skills, a four-day
Freshman Camp to introduce all incoming Freshmen to Southside, 3-days
of Seminars for Upperclassmen including a College Fair, state of the
art staff-development for helping at-risk students and applying
hands-on teaching methods, vertical teaming with feeder schools, and
increased tutoring and mentoring from GE volunteers. Part of the
funds are also used to upgrade technology at Southside including
computers, tutorial software, TI-83 calculators, and SmartBoards to
better prepare students for the Exit Exam and End of Course Tests.
“We have had a long-standing relationship with Southside, with a
number of dedicated GE employees who serve as mentors and tutors,”
said Jon Ebacher, vice president of power generation technology for GE
Power Systems. “As a business that thrives on intellectual growth, we
understand how important it is to encourage as many students as
possible to pursue higher education.”
The GE foundation invests in improving educational quality and access
and strengthening community organizations in GE communities around the
world.
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Need Help with Classes or the
Exit Exam? |
Tutors from GE
are available after school from 4:00 until 6:00 on Tuesdays and
Thursdays in the media center to assist any student who needs
help.
Thanks to GE’s
generosity, mini-computer labs are op en
before school or from 3:30 until 5:00 each day in room 202, 209,
and 217 for students who need a place to do homework, work on
the computers or study.
Students may also use the computers to improve
skills in Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies and
to prepare for the Exit Exam. GE funds have purchased licenses
for HSAP Online, Passkey, Larson’s Math, and Criterion Writing.
Students with questions about any GE programs should see Ms.
Tate in the GE office in the cafeteria. |
February 22-23, 2006, GE sponsored and SHS hosted a 2-day Virtual
Trade Mission in the media center at Southside. Participants included
21 students (grades 10-12) and speakers from North Greenville College,
Pacific Rim Partners, the International Trade Division of SC
Department of Commerce, GE, Fluor Daniel, and Fiberweb.
During the two days, students learned about international business and
trade from speakers and hands-on activities. Students worked in teams
to research the big emerging markets; to conduct an export challenge
during which they planned how to export either a basketball
tournament, a music concert tour, or a sports vehicle to one of the
big emerging markets; and to actually simulate a trade mission.
Students had the opportunity to learn about career opportunities in
international business from experts in the field.
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| TI-83 calculators
were purchased so that calculators would be available for all students
on the state-mandated end of the year Algebra I test. |
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