ConvergeUS Awarded Grant to Study Role of Common Core Standards in Strengthening Innovative Use of Technology and Improving K-12 Student Achievement

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- ConvergeUS, the nonprofit arm of TechNet, whose mission is to leverage the potential of technology to advance and accelerate social innovation, today announced that the organization has been awarded a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the amount of $200,000 to research how common core state standards in education can better prepare students for success in emerging sectors, foster innovation in education and strengthen the long term competitiveness of the U.S. economy.  

The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort to provide a consistent and clear definition of the skills students are expected to learn. The standards are designed to reflect the knowledge and skills that young people need for success in college and careers in the new economy. The white paper will also report on original survey research exploring business leaders' views on workforce issues, education, and technology.

The grant will also fund outreach activities that ConvergeUS will conduct to highlight the findings of the white paper. The outreach activities will highlight the white paper's findings, and frame actions for stakeholders on how to encourage and support adoption and implementation of the standards. ConvergeUS, launched earlier this year by TechNet President and CEO Rey Ramsey and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, functions as a facilitator and convener to mobilize technology corporations, academic institutions and other nonprofits to create innovations focused on social issues.

"The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the gold standard when it comes to organizations working to improve public education in America," said Patrick Gusman (Executive Director, ConvergeUS).  "This grant will help us facilitate improved uses of technology to enhance our education system.  We are honored to partner with the Gates Foundation on this important issue."

Each year, ConvergeUS identifies three problem areas to focus its attention this year to create "technology innovation blueprints" that focus on purposeful applications of technology to address these issues.  For 2012, ConvergeUS is working with the following issue areas and partners to achieve breakthroughs: Early Childhood Reading (The Campaign for Grade Level Reading); STEM Education (Silicon Valley Education Foundation); and Child Nutrition (CommonHealth ACTION and Farm Sanctuary).

ConvergeUS is also partnering with other public and private organizations such as Babson College, Tufts University and the University of Notre Dame and other universities.

About ConvergeUS

ConvergeUS is the 501(c) (3) non-profit arm of TechNet and its mission is to drive technology-enabled breakthroughs for critical social concerns. When TechNet was founded in 1997, the founders made it a priority to concentrate on improving education in the United States and established the high-tech industry's credentials as good corporate citizens. In keeping with the core objectives of TechNet, ConvergeUS annually selects a maximum of three non-profit partners to accelerate social innovation. We concentrate our efforts on either specific social issues or geographic areas in need of rapid improvement and sustainable momentum for meaningful change. In our selection process, we prioritize difficult and seemingly intractable problems and regions left behind by the innovation economy.  ConvergeUS drives the innovation required through convening and strategic support.  ConvergeUS works with a sense of urgency by encouraging entrepreneurship and bringing together the public and private sector to determine how best to deploy technology address the problems ConvergeUS identifies.

To learn more, visit www.convergeus.org.  More about TechNet at www.technet.org.

SOURCE ConvergeUS