PHILADELPHIA -- The Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania has been awarded a $1.5 million grant from IBM for a teacher professional development initiative that will use technology to link Penn with the School District of Philadelphia and the state Department of Education.

The collaboration will create the Penn Beginning Teachers Network, using IBM Learning Village as a tool to improve preparation and retention of beginning teachers. The project will start with Philadelphia teachers in kindergarten through eighth grade and will develop online collaborative learning communities where pre-service and early-service teachers will work with mentor teachers to refine their skills to teach standards-driven lessons in math, science and literacy.

"Becoming a teacher is a process and extends into the early years of a teacher's career," said Nancy Streim, Associate Dean of Penn GSE. "The Penn Beginning Teachers Network will model an innovative way for teacher education faculty to use technology to guide new teachers both before and after they have their own classrooms."

Penn is among 20 leading schools of education in nine states to join this national effort to ensure qualified teachers in every classroom. The grant is part of IBM's $15 million Reinventing Education program that will pave the way for teachers to receive new levels of quality training and professional development, meeting the requirements of President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act.