Atlanta Technical College Receives $3.65 Million in U.S. DOE Grants

Oct. 7, 2011 - PRLog -- ATLANTA - The U.S. Department of Education has announced that Atlanta Technical College (ATC) has been awarded $3.65 million from two federal grants. In a press statement released on September 30 the agency announced that the college has earned both the Predominately Black Institutions (PBI) Formula Grant and the PBI Competitive Grant.  The money is to be used to improve the colleges’ abilities to serve African American and other low- and middle-income students.

“Atlanta Technical College has provided thousands of local residents with the education and skills necessary to succeed in the job market,” said ATC President Alvetta Peterman Thomas. “With this funding, we can build our capacity, improve our services and continue to play a significant role in strengthening the communities we serve.  This investment in post-secondary education will yield great dividends as thousands of Georgians move from joblessness to gainful employment.”

ATC received a $1.25 million award, payable at $250,000 over five years from the PBI Formula Grant Program to support the Atlanta Technical College Institute for Males (AIM), a program designed to provide special support to minority men who desire a post-secondary education. The program was started in February 2009 and has served over 1,000 men.  AIM works with high school and adult male populations in the areas of leadership development, tutoring, test preparation, life skills, conflict resolution, and critical thinking.  Each program participant is assigned to an outreach specialist who helps to minimize the barriers to an education.

In addition to the PBI formula grant, ATC received a $2.4 million PBI competitive grant, which will be paid in $600,000 installments over four years.  The competitive grant funds will be used to create a coordinated campus-based initiative that will provide recruitment and orientation programs, assessment and placement services, developmental/remediation learning support, academic enrichment and additional social support services to overcome barriers to academic achievement.  The money will also be used to provide enhanced learning services for students pursuing an education in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and health-related fields.

In a prepared statement, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said, "These grants will help build the capacity of colleges that educate large numbers of African American students. Strengthening these schools is critically important to increasing student completion and meeting President Obama's goal of being first in the world in college graduates by 2020."

For more information from the U.S. DOE about the PBI grants, go to http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-educa...

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Atlanta Technical College
Atlanta Technical College, a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia, is located in the city of Atlanta, is an accredited institution of higher education that provides affordable lifelong learning opportunity, associate degree, diplomas, technical certificates of credit, customized business and industry training, continuing education and other learning services using state-of-the-art technology in more than 100 fields. The integration of academics and applied career preparation to enhance student learning is essential in meeting the workforce demands and economic development needs of the people, businesses, and communities of Fulton and Clayton counties.