A $500,000 federal grant will help Mercer University plan improvements for public schools in Macon's Unionville and Tindall Heights neighborhoods.
A Mercer news release says the program will help monitor students' progress and achievement from birth into the job market.
They'll focus on four schools: Ingram-Pye and Hartley elementary schools, Ballard Hudson Middle School, and Southwest High School.
Peter Brown, a Mercer University philosophy professor, will oversee the grant. He says the program will be a collaborative effort among the university, the city, county and the Bibb County school district.
Mercer says the grant is one of 15 awarded nationwide.
They say Macon's Peyton Anderson Foundation will chip in $150,000, raising the grant total to $650,000.