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September 2013 Education RICHMOND, Va. - Education


grants of more than $600,000 from Dominion Resources and the Dominion Foundation will be awarded to schools and educational institutions around Virginia for the 2013-2014 academic year.


The K-12 Educational Partnership


program will give 43 schools up to $10,000 each to help fund projects related to energy and the environment. The Higher Education Partnership program will award 18 college and post-secondary schools with up to $45,000 each to underwrite projects in energy, environmental studies, engineering and workforce development. The Dominion Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Dominion Resources, the parent company of Dominion Virginia Power.


"We encourage projects that


invoke critical thinking and relevant learning," said Thomas F. Farrell II, chairman, president and chief executive officer. "Virginia students must be prepared to meet the challenges ahead, particularly in the fields of science and energy." Grant recipients include:


Old Dominion University in


www.hamptonroadsmessenger.com


The Hampton Roads Messenger 11


Dominion Resources, Dominion Foundation Announce $600,000 in Grants to Virginia Schools


Norfolk will receive $40,000 for first-year engineering students to use the school's photovoltaic power system as a hands-on tool to learn fundamental technology concepts behind renewable energy.


Tidewater Community


College in Norfolk was awarded $30,000 to develop "Renewable Energy on the Move," a science education outreach project. The traveling exhibit will serve to educate college students and faculty as well as the community about the need for renewable energy sources.


Virginia Wesleyan College


in Norfolk was awarded $30,000 for students to measure and monitor water quality and biota in storm water management ponds that have been planted with emergent, submerged and shoreline vegetation.


Paul D. Camp


Community College in Franklin was awarded $30,000 create a Robotics/ Mechatronics Laboratory to support the current electronics programs and


Kemps Landing Magnet School in Virginia Beach was awarded $2,000 to construct a composting shed where students can study the environmental effects of reducing trash in landfills and creating organic fertilizer. Students will farm worms and collect compost from the cafeteria and measure the effectiveness of the fertilizer. Seen here, Dominion Power Community Relations Manager Bonita Harris and a Kemps Landing Magnet School student hold up a couple of the worms used in the composting.


two new programs in Robotics and Mechatronics.


The Virginia grants are part of nearly $1.4 million given to schools in


states where Dominion does business, including Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.


New Research Showing Prison Education Reduces Recidivism, Saves Money, Improves Employment


Attorney General Eric Holder and


Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently announced research findings showing that, on average, inmates who participated in correctional education programs had 43 percent lower odds of returning to prison than inmates who did not. Each year approximately 700,000 individuals leave federal and state prisons; about half of them will be reincarcerated within three years. The research, funded by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Assistance, was released today by the RAND Corporation.


"These findings reinforce the


need to become smarter on crime by expanding proven strategies for keeping our communities safe, and ensuring that those who have paid their debts to society have the chance to become productive citizens," said Attorney General Holder. "We have an opportunity and an obligation to use smart methods – and advance innovative new programs – that can improve public safety while reducing costs. As it stands, too many individuals and communities are harmed, rather than helped, by a criminal justice system that does not serve the American people as well as it should. This important research is


part of our broader effort to change that."


The findings, from the


largest-ever analysis of correctional educational studies, indicate that prison education programs are cost effective. According to the research, a one dollar investment in prison education translates into reducing incarceration costs by four to five dollars during the first three years after release, when those leaving prison are most likely to return.


"Correctional education


programs provide incarcerated individuals with the skills and knowledge essential to their futures," said Secretary of Education Duncan. "Investing in these education programs helps released prisoners get back on their feet—and stay on their feet—when they return to communities across the country."


With funding from The Second


Chance Act (P.L. 110-199) of 2007, the RAND Corporation’s analysis of correctional education research found that employment after release was 13 percent higher among prisoners who participated in either academic or


Scholarship Watch


QuestBridge National College Match DEADLINE: September 27, 2013 AVERAGE AWARD: $100,000 This scholarship program is for high school seniors who have shown outstanding academic ability de- spite facing economic challenges. Most College Match scholarship recipients come from house- holds earning less than $60,000 annually (for a typical family of four) and have experienced long- term economic hardship. Applicants must plan to


graduate from high school during or before the spring/summer of 2014 and enroll as freshmen in college in the fall of 2014. Non-US citizens, un- documented, and international students are eli- gible. Recipients are granted admission to one of QuestBridge's partner colleges with a full scholar- ship. All scholarships are full four-year scholar- ships with no loans. See website for more details: questbridge.org.


vocational education programs than among those who did not. Those who participated in vocational training were 28 percent more likely to be employed after release from prison than those who did not receive such training.


The report is a collaborative effort


of the Departments of Justice and Education, two of 20 federal agencies that make up the federal interagency Reentry Council. The Reentry


Council’s members are working to make communities safer by reducing recidivism and victimization; assisting those who return from prison and jail in becoming contributing members of their communities; and saving taxpayer dollars by lowering the direct and collateral costs of incarceration. Attorney General Holder chairs the Reentry Council which he established in January 2011.


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