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Rebecca Salner, Media Relations Officer
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
650.450.5525 or rsalner@siliconvalleycf.org

Community Foundation Awards More than $1 Million to Close Middle School Achievement Gap in Mathematics

Grants focus on improving teaching

MOUNTAIN VIEW — Silicon Valley Community Foundation today announced that it will award $1,093,498 to address the achievement gap in middle school mathematics by investing in the development of teachers who are essential to helping under-served students raise their performance.

Sixteen organizations in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, including individual schools, school districts, charter schools, universities and nonprofits with mathematics programs, will receive grants from the community foundation.

The grants will allow more than 350 teachers to receive focused professional development in middle school mathematics. Those teachers will then be able to serve as mentors and advisors to other teachers within their districts, extending the learning to a greater number of their colleagues.

"We know that disparities in the quality of education that students receive underlie the achievement gap. Great teachers ensure that all students can succeed in middle school math and beyond," said Emmett D. Carson, Ph.D., CEO and president of the community foundation. "Unfortunately, we know that there are school districts within our region that do not have a single teacher with a subject specific credential in math.

"Given those challenges and the economic impact of the state budget crisis on schools, it is more important than ever for the community foundation to invest in our teachers," Carson said.

The grants announced today are the second round of education grants awarded by the community foundation this year. In April, the community foundation awarded more than $800,000 to help more than 2,000 under performing students attend after school or summer math programs.

Research has shown that students who master algebra are more likely to succeed in college-track courses in high school. The community foundation’s grantmaking in education is focused on closing the mathematics achievement gap so that all students have the opportunity to succeed.

"These grants invest in programs that will make our teachers more effective," said Carson. "More effective teachers result in greater student achievement. The training these teachers receive will multiply as they extend their learning to colleagues, creating a cycle of continuous improvement."

Four school districts in San Mateo County will receive $120,169 for the Algebra Collaborative for Creating Equitable Student Access between Bayshore, Brisbane, San Carlos and Belmont-Redwood Shores school districts. The program works to improve the instructional skills of teachers, provide coaching and create a learning community in which teachers can share effective strategies for applying their new skills in the classroom.

The New Teacher Center at University of California Santa Cruz will receive $100,000 for Project Algebra, which will provide math-intensive training for new teachers in Alum Rock, Berryessa, Franklin-McKinley, Mount Pleasant, Mountain View Whisman, Sunnyvale and Morgan Hill school districts.

Springboard for Improving Schools, a network of education professionals founded in 1995 which has worked to promote school reform, received $35,000 to begin developing a new program for middle school mathematics teachers at Oak Grove School District in Santa Clara County and Cabrillo School District in San Mateo County.

In addition, Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s Laboratory for Learning initiative received a $75,000 grant to provide professional development for mathematics teachers in Santa Clara County and San Jose State University’s Research Foundation received $100,000 for its Silicon Valley Math Initiative, which provides training to help teachers in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties deliver the highest quality mathematics instruction.

About Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Silicon Valley Community Foundation® is a catalyst and leader for innovative solutions to our region’s most challenging problems. Serving all of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, the community foundation has $1.5 billion in assets under management and 1,500 philanthropic funds. The community foundation provides grants through donor advised and corporate funds in addition to its own Community Endowment Fund. In addition, the community foundation serves as a regional center for philanthropy, providing donors simple and effective ways to give locally and around the world. Silicon Valley Community Foundation launched in January 2007 following the landmark merger of Community Foundation Silicon Valley and Peninsula Community Foundation and is now one of the largest community foundations in the nation. Find out more at www.siliconvalleycf.org.