In the third and final year of a $4,000,000 partnership, fourteen Archdiocesan high schools have been awarded $1,500,000 in grants in response to a competitive proposal process. The three-year collaboration demonstrated the commitment of innovative administrators and faculties who continually strive to provide enriched learning opportunities to their students. The Academic Enrichment Program rewards strategic planning and vision, and the Archdiocese and the Connelly Foundation enthusiastically participated to jointly support this value-added approach to education.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Connelly Foundation announced their collaboration in a $4 million Academic Enrichment Program on December 16, 1997. The purpose of the Academic Enrichment Program is to support projects that introduce, enhance or expand programs at 22 diocesan high schools and Mercy Vocational High School to help their students grow academically. The initiative invested $1,000,000 in 1998, $1,500,000 in 1999 and the remaining $1,500,000 will be paid out in 2000. Project financing is comprised of a $2,400,000 pledge from the Connelly Foundation and a $1,000,000 commitment from the Archdiocese. The balance is realized by each participating school's contribution of 15 percent of its proposal budget, for a total $4,000,000 program.

Of 22 proposals submitted for consideration this year, fourteen grants have been awarded and their recipients notified on May 5, 2000 are as follows:


St. Maria Goretti High School for Girls
Philadelphia, PA
$35,000
Operating funds to provide for a technical support person to oversee the network and assist faculty in their professional development toward managing technology and integrating computer assisted learning into the curriculum.

Kennedy-Kenrick High School
Norristown, PA
$60,000
In support of the "Bridge to the Future" project that will enhance the language arts, math and science curriculum through the use of technology and continued faculty professional development.

John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls' High School
Philadelphia, PA
$70,000
To renovate and upgrade the school library and install technology-enhanced resources to be accessed by all students.

Mercy Vocational High School
Philadelphia, PA
$70,000
Each of seven vocational education classrooms and one multi-disciplinary classroom will have computer workstations available to teachers and students in order to enhance technology integration and usage in the curriculum.

North Catholic High School
Philadelphia, PA
$70,000
To provide for the creation of an advanced multi-purpose, internet accessible computer lab, as well as for faculty enrichment to enhance the use of technology to support and expand the curriculum.

Cardinal Dougherty High School
Philadelphia, PA
$75,000
To renovate and upgrade classroom space to allow for new computer hardware and internet access for students and to enhance students' writing competency through the acquisition and utilization of Writer's Solution.

Little Flower High School
Philadelphia, PA
$80,000
To upgrade the science laboratories to incorporate the utilization of laptop computers, graphing calculators and computer-based probes to enhance learning and generate a heightened interest in the sciences.

West Philadelphia Catholic High School
Philadelphia, PA
$100,000
Toward the renovation of the physics and physical science laboratory to provide an up-to-date science facility in which the principles of technology can be fully implemented.

Saint Pius X High School
Pottstown, PA
$100,000
To provide for the improved integration of technology into the curriculum by equipping classrooms with a desktop computer or mobile laptop computer to facilitate classroom learning and presentations.

Conwell-Egan Catholic High School
Fairless Hills, PA
$110,000
To fund the development of the Humanities Program and the integration of arts and technology through interdisciplinary instruction that will provide students with exposure to various art forms by forging links between the classroom and the cultural and artistic resources of the area.

Archbishop Prendergast High School
Drexel Hill, PA
$135,000
To fund an "Overture in Arts Education," a multi-disciplinary arts center designed to help students develop key habits of mind that include creativity, integration of technological tools into the study and expression of art, and to allow for increased participation in the visual and performing arts programs.

St. Hubert Catholic High School for Girls
Philadelphia, PA
$195,000
To enhance the humanities curriculum by establishing a dedicated writing lab, renovating the art studio to incorporate CAD technology and acquiring new musical instruments.

Roman Catholic High School
Philadelphia, PA
$200,000
To bring World Languages and science classrooms online with multimedia and internet capabilities that will allow faculty and students to better assimilate knowledge and application of the target languages and create more interactive scientific activities and experiments.

Monsignor Bonner High School
Drexel Hill, PA
$200,000
To support "Integrating Technology into the Mainstream of Instruction Program," a pilot program that replicates business practice by placing a computer on every desk in English and science classrooms toward a total integration of technology into the curriculum.