PHILADELPHIA PA, July 31, 2006 -- More than $1.6 million in federal grants to provide academic incentives and program support to thousands of disadvantaged students in Philadelphia were announced today by Congressman Chaka Fattah.

The TRIO Talent Search program of the U.S. Department of Education is awarding $1,399,371 in one-year grants to the three Philadelphia institutions and agencies.

The recipients are Philadelphia Education Fund, $851,262 for 2,250 participants; ASPIRA Inc. of Pennsylvania, $297,848 for 880 participants and the University of Pennsylvania, $250,261 for 600 participants.

Talent Search identifies and assists individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds who have the potential to succeed in higher education. They receive academic, career and financial counseling plus encouragement to stay in high school and go to college.

The Creative and Performing Arts program of the School District of Philadelphia, working with the Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership, will receive $270,000 for the Arts Bridge program that meshes the Literacy Curriculum with arts based learning for the year that began July 1, Fattah announced. The grant comes from the Department of Education’s model Arts in Education program.

Arts Bridge will serve 1,980 students in the fourth through sixth grades of five persistently low-achieving elementary schools over four years. The grant is expected to be renewed for the next three years.

The total of these education grants for Philadelphia announced by Congressman Fattah is $1,669,371.