Notes from Class, the newsletter for the Foundation for Educational Excellence

April 2021

Volume 1 Issue 1

The Foundation for Educational Excellence seeks and sustains county-wide

charitable and educational resources that support the mission and goals

of the public schools of Beaufort County, South Carolina.

A Year in the Classroom Like No Other

This school year brought even greater challenges for our students and educators! The obstacles to keeping students engaged and thriving were unique, so we shifted our focus to accommodate the specific needs of our students, teachers, and schools and met those challenges head on. How did we change our focus this year? In addition to funding multiple innovative grants, the Foundation applied for larger grants which provided funding for tutoring and technology during the pandemic. Let me share some of the exceptional ways we supported local students and teachers.

Lisa Carroll, Board Chair

Women In Philanthropy Provide COVID Recovery Tutoring

The Foundation for Educational Excellence has received a $25,000 grant from Women In Philanthropy to fund tutoring needs for COVID recovery programs for students at Robert Smalls International Academy and Shanklin Elementary School.

The “Emerging Scholars” funding will provide 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th grade students, who are three or more grade levels behind, with high quality reading instruction and intervention.

The Foundation is grateful for the COVID related educational funding provided by Women In Philanthropy. We are confident that it will make a significant difference in empowering students to succeed.

Nearly $30,000 in Innovative Grants Goes to 18 Beaufort Co. Schools

The Foundation for Educational Excellence awarded 19 Innovative Teacher Grants and 7 School Resource Grants this past November to teachers across Beaufort County from 18 different schools. This year’s innovative learning projects provided over 5,600 individual learning opportunities for local students. One of those projects currently under way is the Bobcat Beanery Coffee Cart at Bluffton High School. Students are coordinating a coffee cart in conjunction with The Corner Perk in Bluffton. They take orders and deliver coffee to teachers throughout the high school, learning valuable business skills and customer service communications.

Major Funding for Tutoring and Technology

The Foundation recently awarded $61,000 in HUD grants for projects for five schools on Hilton Head Island to help offset learning deficiencies resulting from COVID-19 school closures. In total, 2,196 students of low to moderate income families are receiving tutoring and technology support this spring. These educational grants were awarded through HUD Community Development Block Grants the Town of Hilton Head Island received and distributed with the assistance of Community Foundation of the Lowcountry.

We Are Seeking New Board Members

The Foundation is seeking new board members for the Fall 2021 – May 2022 school year.

If you are interested in education and would like to consider serving, please contact

Vice Chair, Karen Beltz 4bluffton@gmail.com or 843- 540-7154

See MORE of the amazing efforts to support our students and teachers.

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