PHILADELPHIA The University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education and The Goldman Sachs Foundation are preparing Penn students and K-12 educators to start new initiatives in education. The Goldman Sachs Entrepreneurship in Education program will nurture entrepreneurial-minded educators and support their development of new initiatives.

"We want to give educators access to training to become successful entrepreneurs," said Nancy Streim, associate dean of the Graduate School of Education. "Educators need to be at the forefront of reform efforts, thinking creatively about settings, products and systems for educating America's children. Then they need to get out there and do it."

A central feature is the new "education track" of the Business Plan Competition of Penn's Wharton School. It provides mentoring, feedback and cash incentives to Penn students with ideas for new businesses in K-12 education. More than 20 teams of Penn students have drafted education-related business plans, making them eligible to win as much as $10,000 donated by The Goldman Sachs Foundation.

Other components of the Goldman Sachs Entrepreneurship in Education program include new courses that prepare Penn graduate students to start their own education-related businesses and a summer institute in entrepreneurship for K-12 teachers. In addition, a new executive-format, doctoral-degree program in educational and organizational leadership will offer an entrepreneurship concentration.

"The Goldman Sachs Foundation's partnership with Penn illustrates our commitment to excellence and innovation in education," said Stephanie Bell-Rose, president of The Goldman Sachs Foundation. "We look forward to a promising collaboration that will help shape a new generation of social entrepreneurs."