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.
Research and development demands a solid educational foundation. We are working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce through the Institute for a Competitive Workforce to increase the business community’s understanding of educational and workforce development issues. GSK’s goal is to help ensure continued improvement in the quality of our education system and the skills of the future U.S. workforce by supporting initiatives that will help to provide training, programming and technical assistance for educational reform at the national, state and local levels, and by applying the best business practices.
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.
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.
left to right (back row): Tarik Ryant, Dr. Bob Carr; Mary Linda Andrews; and R. Andrew Swinney, Pres of Philadelphia Foundation
left to right (front row): Eric Scott-Murphy; Tamika Singleton; Cindy Suy; Amirah Shepard
left to right (front row): Matthew Muse, Kaitlyn Monahan, Cushandra Burnett, Jasmine Lovett, Omega McKinnon, Laxmi Haynes, Student Action for Farmworkers, accepting for Guadalupe Huitron
left to right (back row): Mary Linda Andrews, David Pulman, Andrea Bazan, Pres. of Triangle Community Foundation
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 45 businesses, universities, the School District of Philadelphia and other nonprofit organizations.
The Coalition focuses 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 2009, approximately 6,800 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.
To help young women explore the many ways to contribute to society through science, the GlaxoSmithKline Women in Science Scholars Program was created in 1993 to offer unique educational opportunities to North Carolina students. The program couples scholarships with a mentoring program in which professionals shepherd the scholars through the myriad of possible career paths, while explaining practical strategies for succeeding the workplace. The North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation has funded more than $1,400,000 in endowed scholarships at 29 North Carolina colleges and universities.
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