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Foundation for Rural Education Excellence |
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Supporting Academic Achievement in
Rural Northeast Florida Communities
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The Foundation for Rural Education Excellence, a registered 501 (C)(3) organization, was founded in 1998 to facilitate philanthropic support for rural school districts of the North East Florida Educational Consortium (NEFEC): Baker, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Nassau, Putnam, Suwannee and Union Counties as well as Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind and PK Yonge Developmental Research School. Working collaboratively, our mission is to enhance academic success and career opportunities for rural students in northeast Florida.
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Clay Electric Foundation Awards Grant to Support Industry Certification Exams |
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FREE was recently awarded $7,500 through Clay Electric's Operation Round Up program. The funds will be used to support the cost of industry certification exams for high school students in the NEFEC/Clay Electric service area.
According to the Florida Chamber’s recent job analysis data, Florida will add 4.5 million more residents and will need to create 2 million net new jobs by the year 2030. At the same time, advances in innovation and technology will push increased automation, globalization, and expansions in machine learning in the next decade and a half. Although these shifts are already well underway, by 2030 these and other disruptive technologies will lead to the development of new jobs and a shift in the skills and competencies required for existing jobs.
Many rural districts and schools lack the appropriate funding to fully support the career academies and career themed programs in schools that will help prepare their students to fill these jobs. This includes a shortage of funds to cover the cost of industry certification exams (the industry credentials many employers are beginning to require). There are specific career academy programs that are crucial to the power industry as well as the economic growth of the northeast Florida region. Examples of these include engineering, electrical, cybersecurity, computer science, and many others. We must prepare these students for northeast Florida’s workforce needs. Thank you Clay Electric!
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NEFEC Lands Regional Literacy Director |
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Lindsay Harrison is an experienced educator with a strong passion for literacy, as evidenced by her experiences as a classroom teacher and literacy coach in Union County, Florida over the last fifteen years.
Lindsay is a graduate of the University of Florida, where she completed her master’s studies with a specialization in literacy. In the classroom, Lindsay strived to provide standards-aligned lessons, foster firm foundations, address individual student needs, and make learning fun and accessible for all. As a literacy coach, she supported K-12 teachers in data analysis, lesson planning, standards alignment, interventions, progress monitoring, professional development, and more! She has facilitated professional learning pathways to the K-12 reading endorsement and has partnered with NEFEC to develop and facilitate professional learning opportunities for educators and administrators in the area of literacy.
In her role as State Regional Literacy Director, Lindsay will be serving NEFEC districts in a variety of areas based upon individual needs.
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MyDistrict Virtual School Comes Up Big |
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MyDistrict Virtual School (MDVS), a service of NEFEC, collaborated with districts to provide guidance and virtual professional development to support educators as they moved to online delivery models. Most NEFEC districts offered families three options for school year 2020-2021. Many caregivers with family members who have underlying health conditions made the difficult decision to keep their school-age children home. As a result, MyDistrict Virtual School increased semester course enrollments by 300%. By the end of August, MDVS had more enrollments than the program has ever placed over the past 11 years since its beginning in 2009.
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23rd Annual Golf Tournament
FREE's annual golf tournament is scheduled for March 26, 2021, at the Palatka Golf Club. Look for registration information soon.
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Summer Leadership Conference
NEFEC's Annual Summer Leadership Conference is scheduled for
July 27-28, 2021, at the Sawgrass Marriott in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.
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Foundation for Rural Education Excellence
(352) 317-0621
foundationruraled@gmail.com
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