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January 22 2010

Governor's School Receives Federal Funds for Readiness Initiative

HARTSVILLE, S.C. – January,22 2010 – The S.C. Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics has received $275,000 in federal funds to launch its Readiness Initiative. The initiative is designed to prepare middle-schoolers for entrance into the school and for careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

“From Middle School to College” is a six-year initiative being developed by the school to identify and support academically talented, low-income middle school students. The program would work to provide them with intensive individual math, science and writing skill development.

This is the first time the federal government has allocated direct funding to the Governor’s School, officials said.

Students will be identified in seventh grade and will attend summer enrichment sessions each year on the school’s Hartsville campus. Once they reach 10th grade, participants will earn early admission to the Governor’s School, contingent on satisfactory completion of the program.

All Governor’s School alumni attend college, and most receive generous scholarships, school officials said. The average amount of scholarships offered to the 56 seniors in the class of 2009 was nearly $184,000 each. More than 80% of alumni pursue graduate degrees, and most find success in professional disciplines, the school said.

“Our congressional delegation has often expressed confidence in GSSM’s ability to guide talented young South Carolinians to rewarding careers in science and advanced technology. This allocation represents the first time they have put the power of federal funding behind that belief,” said Murray Brockman, school president.

The Governor’s School, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2008-09, serves high school juniors and seniors who are passionate about science, math and technology and who are motivated to learn more on these subjects.