A $500,000 General Electric grant to two Cincinnati schools plus a partnering relationship with Ohio State University's College of Engineering could be an equation that raises student math skills and test scores.

The five-year grant from the General Electric Fund goes to math departments at Northside's Chase Elementary School and nearby Aiken High School. It's aimed at students in the seventh grade on up.

"The goal is to inspire and prepare our students at Aiken and Chase to go on to college and maybe to become engineers themselves and come to work for us," said GE Aircraft Engines' Kevin McAllister. Last Monday, more than 100 GEAE employees attended an assembly to announce the grant at Aiken.

Good for GE. Other Cincinnati-area corporations such as Cincinnati Bell are partnering with city schools, as are other universities in the region. It is through such enlightened civic partnerships that more urban district students may discover that math and science can be fun and also financially rewarding with high-paying careers.

Chase principal Therman Sampson II plans to use some of the grant to train teachers and improve students' math test scores.

Ohio State University engineering professor Audeen Fentiman explained to students that engineers and scientists designed the video games they play and the CD players they listen to. The high school students will be offered an "Engineering Experience" course that makes math come alive through exercises such as taking a camera apart to learn its mechanical and electrical functions.

From the Internet, to the human genome to the space program, science is changing our lives every day. Success in college math and science starts much earlier, in elementary and high school. It is urgent that K-12 schools are preparing the next generation of mathematicians and engineers to take up these challenges as we advance in this new age of exploration.

Corporate and university "partners" let city students meet flesh-and-blood role models in satisfying scientific careers, and can help students begin to believe that they too can succeed in these fields.