Atlanta Schools' Public Engagement Partnerships

Atlanta Schools' Office of Public EngagementThe aim at Price Middle School was to help the
The Atlanta Schools' Office of Public Engagement isstudents by making their work more efficient. The
responsible for creating and fostering partnershipsstudents, principal and teachers at Price Middle School
between Atlanta Schools, community volunteers,all profited from Atlanta Schools' participation in the
teachers, parents, national and local corporations,Hewlett Packard's "Bringing it Home" Program.
non-profit groups, and civic organizations in order toAtlanta Schools' Long Term Partnership with General
advance student achievement. The Office of PublicElectric
Engagement was created as part of the ongoingAtlanta Schools has been in a partnership with
educational reform that is occurring throughout theGeneral Electric Energy since 1993 and will continue
Atlanta Schools. The Office's aim is to connect thethis partnership in the future. The partnership with
schools with any resource that could offer a positiveGeneral Electric involves several different ongoing
influence on the success of the students in theprojects and was originally started by former Atlanta
Atlanta Schools. Many of these relationships are of aSchools' graduates who now are employed by
creative and ground-breaking nature. Several of theGeneral Electric. The General Electric Partnership was
most successful partnership programs involve somestarted as a tutoring and mentoring program where
of the largest corporations in the nation.General Electric employees would volunteer in schools
Hewlett Packard's "Bringing it Home" Programin the area but it has grown to include Saturday SAT
The Atlanta Schools has for many years been partpreparation, the Family Technology Resource Center,
of the Hewlett Packard's "Bringing it Home" program.and scholarship programs. There are now more than
The Atlanta Schools partnership with Hewlett1,500 General Electric employees involved in the
Packard is part of a larger program that hasGeneral Electric Partnership in some way. The General
representatives from Hewlett Packard visiting overElectric Partnership has proved to be very influential
600 schools in the United States, Canada and thein student SAT performance.
Caribbean. The main goal of the Hewlett Packard'sIn 2002, General Electric donated $1 million to Atlanta
"Bringing it Home" Program is to encourage students,Schools' Southside High School as part of General
their parents and teachers to create andElectric's national College Bound Grant Program. This
communicate with technology. The Hewlett Packard'sdonation to Southside High School was the first grant
"Bringing it Home" Program is an interactivefrom the College Bound Grant Program to be given
exploratory program that allows students to gainto a school in the Atlanta Schools. The grant is being
practical experience using digital photography andused by Southside High School's "Strategic Design for
computers.Student Success" project. The school wide project
Atlanta Schools' Price Middle School was one of theplans to double, by 2007, the percentage of
locations where students were exposed to the latestSouthside High School's graduating seniors who go on
innovations in technology. The Price Middle School'sto four-year or two-year colleges or universities, or
students were able to see how this technology couldwho enroll in technical institutions.
be applied to their own assignments and projects.