Under the leadership of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA), the Hartford Alliance has been established to strengthen K-12 science, mathematics, and technology education in the Hartford Public Schools. The Alliance is a unique private-public sector partnership seeking to enhance teachers' knowledge and skills in science, mathematics, and computer literacy and provide enrichment for urban minority youth. The Hartford Alliance currently includes CBIA, the Travelers Companies, IBM, Aetna Life and Casualty, the Hartford Public Schools, Wesleyan University, Central Connecticut State University, the University of Hartford, St. Joseph College, the Science Museum of Connecticut, and Choate-Rosemary Hall. Collaborative programs to improve teaching will be conducted and coordinated through the Alliance. Building on successful statewide models, professional development activities will be provided for at least 180 Hartford teachers. Roughly 35 percent of all 3-6th grade teachers, 50 percent of middle-school science and math teachers, and 25 percent of high-school science and math teachers will be served. Additionally, approximately 750-1000 students will directly participate in enrichment programs collaborating with the Alliance. By 1989, the Alliance will bring together all private sector math/science partnerships currently operating in Hartford. Because there has been no organizational framework in place for coordinating these efforts, neither the school administration nor the companies involved know the full range of programs offered, who they serve or miss, just how effective they are, or how they interrelate. To address this problem, CBIA and the Hartford Alliance Executive Committee will be responsible for: 1) gathering and disseminating information about all existing math/science partnership programs in Hartford; 2) coordinating these efforts with the Hartford Public Schools; 3) identifying overlapping services, potential areas for collaboration among programs, and unmet needs; 4) encouraging the development of new partnerships to respond to those needs; 5) evaluating the short- and long-term impact and effectiveness of these partnerships; and 6) disseminating information about the Alliance process and its programs locally, statewide, and nationally. Cost sharing by the partners will total 111% of the NSF funding.
