Xerox grant makes schools within schools
On the 10th anniversary of a model program, Xerox Corp. has donated $1 million to create engineering “academies” in 110 high schools across the country.
In so doing, the Norwalk-based company is following the “school-within-a-school” model used by Cisco Systems Inc., whose Cisco Networking Academies have trained more than 460,000 high school and college students in the United States on information technology skills, along with 1.6 million more in 160 countries.
Xerox is donating the funds to the National Academy Foundation (NAF), which is developing math and science curricula in collaboration with the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering and with Project Lead The Way.
NAF already operates more than 500 academies in 40 states preparing students for careers in finance, hospitality and information technology. Nine of those are located in Connecticut, including academies of finance at Stamford High School and Westhill High School, also in Stamford.
The NAF was founded by former Citigroup Inc. chairman and Greenwich resident Sandy Weill. The organization is supported by a $3 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and by $1 million grants from Xerox, Motorola Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc.
Hartford-based United Technologies Corp. also is a sponsor.
The foundation plans to open 13 pilot sites next year, none of them in Connecticut. It hopes to establish the remaining 97 academies by 2010.
Of 30 networking academies in Connecticut, Cisco runs 11 in Fairfield County, including programs at Fairfield University and Norwalk Community College.
Local high schools with Cisco Networking Academies include:
Ӣ Academy of Information Technology in Stamford;
Ӣ Bassick High School in Bridgeport;
Ӣ Danbury High School;
Ӣ Joel Barlow High School serving Easton and Redding;
Ӣ New Fairfield High School;
Ӣ Norwalk Public Schools;
Ӣ Stamford High School;
Ӣ Stratford High School; and
Ӣ Westhill.
At a Washington, D.C., commemoration of the Cisco Networking Academies in early October, Cisco”™s CEO said business leaders must take more responsibility in shaping the educational system to give students the skills they need.
“No one entity, company or government organization can address this challenge alone,” said Cisco CEO John Chambers. “It requires collaboration on a very large scale between corporations and government organizations at the state and national level.”
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