Meg Whitman Donates $500K To LA Math Education Program

Los Angeles - Former gubernatorial candidate and eBay CEO Meg Whitman announced a $500,000 donation today to support math education at 10 Los Angeles schools.

The money will pay for the use of a computer math game that was successful in helping elementary school students at 47 schools improve their math skills last year.

Whitman and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa made the announcement at 99th Street Elementary School. They also toured the schools computer lab and watched kids use the math games.

More than 9,500 students improved their 2011 California Standards Test math scores by an average of 13.6 points after using the web-based ST Math software from MIND Research Institute for one school year, according to a statement released by the institute.

MIND Education Division President Andrew Coulson said the software "taps into students' innate ability to reason their way through visual math puzzles."

Whitman called the program "a transformational mathematics tool that dramatically improves comprehension and performance."

Five of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's Partnership for Los Angeles schools and five Los Angeles Unified School District schools will receive the math software.

"Public private partnerships like this allow us to invest in preparing our children for college and careers in the workplace of the 21st century," Villaraigosa said.

The money for the programs will come from the Whitman-Harsh Family Foundation, which focuses on K-12 education programs.

"Technology is the bridge that will carry students to graduation, college and a lifetime of prosperity," Whitman said.