Education programs

Public education

America’s Promise Alliance is committed to leading a national movement with the goal that every child will graduate from high school ready for college, work and life. With a national dropout rate greater than 30% and a 50% rate for many minorities, GSK recognizes the need for a unified effort of all stakeholders, all of whom will depend on a qualified workforce for the long-term success of their organizations.

Dropout Prevention Summits being held across the U.S. will help identify strategies, provide workable solutions and promote improved high school graduation outcomes. GSK supports the Grad Nation Technical Assistance program, which is part of the Alliance’s Dropout Prevention Initiative.

GlaxoSmithKline provided a $1 million endowment that is available to science teachers pursuing National Board Certification. This landmark endowment bolsters the quality of science education in America's schools by providing financial assistance to science teachers who choose to obtain National Board Certification, the highest credential in the teaching profession.

Additional funding was given to create a National Board Certification for Educational Leaders (NBCEL), including development of National Board Certification for Principals and analysis pertaining to the development of a teacher-leader initiative.

GlaxoSmithKline provided funding for the implementation of the SDP’s Preparing Scientifically Literate Students Initiative during the 2010-2011 academic year. GSK’s grant will provide 20 professional development sessions for approximately 120 science teachers. These workshops will be targeted for teachers in 30 SDP “Empowerment Schools” and will be focused on physical science, chemistry, physics, and biology curricula.

GSK sponsors the Opportunity Scholarship program, which recognizes individuals who have overcome adversity – physical and sexual abuse, serious illness and personal loss – yet have pursued an education as a means of changing their lives.

Started in North Carolina in 1988, these scholarships are an attempt to remove at least one of the obstacles to continuing education. The program was expanded to Philadelphia in 2009. Currently, the endowments are each more than $1 million.

In North Carolina, the scholarship is administered by the Triangle Community Foundation and is open to Research Triangle residents.  In Pennsylvania, the scholarship is administered by The Philadelphia Foundation and is open to Philadelphia residents.

Left to Right:   Dan Phelan, GSK; Freddy Hernandez; Jadrien Reynolds (seated); Jason Rodriguez; Shannon Whittington; Ray Anderson; Mary Linda Andrews, GSK; R. Andrew Swinney, The Philadelphia Foundation.

Left to Right:   William Louv, GSK; Rafel Lane; Destiny Cole; Carlee Baggett; Jessica Scarbeau; Phail Wynn, Jr., Triangle Community Foundation; Mary Linda Andrews, GSK; Nicole Beach (not pictured).

Science education

GSK is partnering with the North Carolina New Schools Project to provide innovative instructional methodologies such as the use of inquiry-. project-, and problem-based learning to 10 existing STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) schools, some of which are located in areas hit particularly hard by the loss of agricultural and manufacturing jobs. Overall, the New Schools Project focuses on innovation in secondary schools across North Carolina to prepare graduates for college, life and careers in the 21st century. These schools have half the dropout rate of conventional schools in NC.

GSK was the lead corporate sponsor of the Philadelphia Math and Science Coalition, a partnership of over 50 businesses, universities, the School District of Philadelphia and other nonprofit organizations.

The Coalition convened to address locally an urgent national crisis: the quality of math and science instruction in our public schools and has focused on developing highly qualified math and science teachers through partnerships among universities, corporations and schools. This unique partnership aims to improve the quality of mathematics and science instruction so students are able to succeed in post-secondary education and in careers that increasingly require math and science backgrounds.

Science in the Summer™ is a free library program that has been funded solely by GSK since 1986 in Greater Philadelphia, PA, Pittsburgh, PA, and Research Triangle Park, NC.

This science education program features hands-on activities and experiments designed to teach elementary school children basic scientific concepts, demonstrate how science is directly related to their everyday lives and get them excited about studying science.  Classes in bioscience, chemistry, genetics, oceanography, physical science/electricity and learning how simple machines work are offered.

In 2011, over 6,900 students experienced the excitement of science through GSK’s Science in the Summer™.

Science in the Summer™ is administered by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Carnegie Science Center, and University of North Carolina’s Morehead Planetarium and Science Center in cooperation with participating libraries.