The Education Foundation of Palm Beach County, Inc.

Mission Statement:  

Executive Committee:

Board Members:

Mel D. Coleman Ed.D -,Regional Director, Nova Southeastern University

Robert Dow - President, Palm Beach County Classroom Teachers Assoc.

George T. Elmore – President and CEO, Hardrives, Inc.

Leanne Evans – Treasurer, School District of Palm Beach County

Louise Grant – Executive Director, Mary & Robert Pew Public Education Fund

Charles Girardi - Vice President of Revenue Development, The Palm Beach Post

Bradley Hurlburt – Senior Vice President, WPBT 2

Linda Jones – Account Vice President, United Healthcare

Ann Killets – Chief of Staff, School District of Palm Beach County

Michael L. Kohner – Managing Director, Wealth and Tax Advisory Services, LLC

Julie Littky- Rubin – Appellate Lawyer, Lytal, Reiter, Clark, Fountain & Williams

Max Macon – Regional Manager, Major Accounts, Florida Power and Light

Val A. Perez – Treasurer, Regions Financial Corporation

Marilynn Pedek – Teacher of the Year 2009, School District of Palm Beach County

Sandra Richmond, Ed.D. -  School Board of Palm Beach County

Ned Shandloff – Office of the Chairman, BankAtlantic

Nancy Steele – Teacher, School District of Palm Beach County

Shelley Vana – County Commissioner, Palm Beach County

Sue Ann Walters – Personnel Specialist, School District of Palm Beach County

Mona C. Zapper - Senior Portfolio Manager, Harris Private Bank

Highlights of Foundation Programs:
• Mission Graduation:  Receiving a high school diploma is beyond the reach of over 4,000 juniors and seniors who have not passed the FCAT. Initial efforts focused on specialized tutorial classes available throughout area high schools and taught by District teachers. Current efforts support a collaborative initiative providing AmeriCorps volunteers placed in local high schools to provide tutorial instruction.

• The Citi Building Bridges to College and Career Initiative: Supports programs that build capacity of high school career centers to increase college enrollment rates, build awareness of career opportunities and develop an understanding about options for financing a college education. In 2008-2009, three schools were funded at $10,000/school: Santaluces High, Forest Hill High and Glades Central High. The Foundation has applied for the second phase of funding for the 2009-2010 year.

• License for Learning Mini-Grants:  Through funding from the Support Education tags, classroom grants are awarded for educational programs to support the development of innovative programs that enhance the educational opportunities for students in Palm Beach County. Areas of focus include, but are not limited to: Literacy, STEM, and Career Education. These funds are also used to support recipients of the I Make A Difference award, Beginning Teacher of the Year and Centennial Essay Contest. In 2009 over $40,000 will be awarded for classroom grants.

• Literacy Achievement Initiative:  The goal is to diagnose the need for additional reading and comprehension assistance and provide programs that have a successful track record of improving academic performance. Funding is provided for programs to assist with improving scores for low-level readers (grades 1-3).  Current programs include the Macy’s Spring Charity event which will provide over $17,000.00 for classroom supplies, Reading Power and Family Literacy.

• Winner Scholarship Fund:  The Fund is designed to inspire students from the second through fifth grade to continue their education after high school graduation, and to show families that higher education is a real possibility in their children’s future.  This program was established by Jan Winkler and Hermine Drezner at Jupiter Elementary and has been replicated at Egret Lake Elementary, Greenacres Elementary, South Grade Elementary and Howell L. Watkins Middle School. In 2009, this program saw its first members graduate from high school with the intention to continue on to college.

• Capturing Kids’ Hearts (Not being renewed once account is spent down):  On behalf of the School District, the Education Foundation raised funds to support Capturing Kids Hearts. This education-training program is based on the philosophy that “If you capture a child’s heart, you have his/her head.” Research shows this has a positive impact on classrooms and schools by decreasing discipline problems and improving academic achievement.