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Tuesday, October 30, 2007
$22,000,000 + The Cost Of PR
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I just got back from the big press event at Southside High School, which officials with General Electric Co. and the Atlanta Public Schools held today to announce their new $22 million math and science partnership.
I honestly cannot remember the last time I witnessed that much of a, well, spectacle. I think it may have been when the University of Texas named their business school after a wealthy San Antonio donor. But even a serenade of the “Eyes of Texas” from the Longhorn marching band hardly compared to this.
First, there were cheerleaders, each of whom held up a card with a number (2, 2, 0…) to reveal the amount GE has committed to the school system. All set to a drum roll and shaking pompoms, of course.
Then, when the final amount was displayed, confetti was shot from air cannons hidden by the stage and balloons were released from the gymnasium rafters.
A cynic might say it was all a bit much. But that’s apparently how big a deal both Atlanta and GE officials see this initiative, which promises to better kids’ math and science skills by improving what is taught in the classroom.
Both yesterday and today, I spoke at length to GE Foundation President Bob Corcoran about the program and his company’s interest in Atlanta. He and other GE officials, including Vice Chairman John Rice, who lives in the area, are true believers in reforming public schools.
Corcoran hopes the College Bound District program will help Atlanta turn around lagging math and science scores and provide a model for others to follow.
“We didn’t spend $22 million in Atlanta to get their light bulb business,” Corcoran told me.
Maybe not.
The question: When all the confetti and balloons are cleared away, will the students and teachers ultimately benefit?
