The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation of Maryland has awarded $120,000 to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) to support the Potomac Regional Education Partnership (PREP). The foundation’s generous donation will enable COG to link low performing public schools with neighborhood Community Technology Centers (CTCs).

COG intends to help the region’s schools improve test scores by developing partnerships between CTCs and their local school systems, in turn increasing the availability of after-school and weekend programs for students of low-performing schools in the District of Columbia and neighboring Maryland and Virginia suburbs. A pilot program will open several community computer labs during after-school hours by supplementing existing staff with certified teachers from local schools. In a two-fold endeavor to advance the region’s education system, this special PREP program will help create a much-needed environment of sustainability for CTCs while helping low-performing schools meet federal No-Child-Left-Behind requirements.

“COG is grateful to the Weinberg Foundation for its generous support of the PREP program,” said David Robertson, executive director of COG. “Our mission is to coordinate activities between the region’s public schools and institutions of higher education. The foundation’s assistance will enable us to add to the current success of our educational technology programs.” 

PREP's mission is to improve educational outcomes and career prospects for students in the metropolitan Washington area. A key component is helping the region enhance its capacity to meet the demands of the 21st century workforce.

PREP, founded in 1998, became a part of COG in November 2001 to facilitate communication between local school districts, institutions of higher education, businesses, and government agencies and foster collaboration on educational issues. PREP sponsors meetings and conferences on issues such as workforce development, school safety, college access, technology access, professional development and recruitment of teachers.