The SouthCoast Education Compact (the Compact) is an education partnership between business leaders, area School Superintendents, the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Dartmouth and Bristol Community College to collectively address the level of educational attainment in the South Coast region.
Teacher Incentive Mini-Grants
The Compact is now offering Teacher Incentive Mini-Grants for curriculum improvement in a variety of subject areas including the humanities, science, math, reading, arts and cultural projects as well as language arts. These grants are intended to help teachers improve the content of courses they already teach, reach out to parents to help them connect with their child's learning process, or to develop a new classroom project that will enhance core learning. Only one grant per school will be awarded.
Any K-12 public, parochial or charter school teacher in a SouthCoast Compact school district who has taught for at least two years at either the elementary or secondary level is eligible to apply.
The Compact will award up to $250 to support teachers in developing curricula, improving current courses, or creating new classroom projects. The Compact expects to award 15 mini-grants in Compact school districts.
Download a flyer and application form (pdf)
2008-2009 College Planning Guide
The SouthCoast Education Compact developed this guide to be a useful tool that brings together in one place a variety of resources on the college admissions and financial aid process. Students can review important information on continuing their education that is easy to read and helps to outline the steps that need to be taken to prepare for college and a career.
Download the guide (PDF; 3.5MB; requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
History, Goals and Achievements
Founded in 1997, the Compact serves 12 cities and towns with a total population of 345,610. The communities involved in the Compact include Fall River, New Bedford, Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Rochester, Somerset, Swansea, Wareham, Marion, Mattapoisett and Westport.
The Compact serves as a catalyst to facilitate increased involvement by the region's Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), area businesses, and the education community in programs and activities that build successful education partnerships with area public schools across school district lines. Many of these SouthCoast communities are under-served cities and towns that struggle with the challenges that effect many cities across the country. These challenges include high unemployment rates, steep high school dropout rates, a weak tax base, a high number of single parent families, a largely unskilled workforce, high rates of child poverty, and declining industries.
