2- 3 All About Us
4-5 The State of Our Members
6-7 Connecting for Action on Top Issues
8-11 Powering Potential for Life Success
12-13 Empowering, Engaging and Elevating Teachers
14-15 Building a Culture of Resiliency
16-17 The Power of a 1:1 Match
18-19 Awards & Accolades
20 EmPOWERING STEM Educators
21 Join The Driving Force For EducationTag
22-23 Financials; Partners and Advisors
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Florida’s local education foundations set students on a path for discovering their passion through hands-on learning and career exposure activities.
Pictured on the cover and to the right: After a learning lab experience at Champions for Learning (The Education Foundation of Collier County) students gained deeper insight into a variety of technical career paths through a visit to the construction site of a new theatre at the Gulfshore Playhouse in Naples.
Also pictured on the cover: In partnership with the Florida Power & Light Company, the Broward Education Foundation engaged aspiring engineers in design and building competitions.
We connect individuals, organizations, and financial resources to build the capacity and impact of member local education foundations.
We envision a state where every student and teacher in all schools succeed.
We believe that engaged and connected communities lead to teacher and student success.
We believe that a high-functioning local education foundation is essential for school districts and communities to close gaps and ensure educational success for all students.
Kim Jowell (Pinellas), Membership Chair
Rachael Tutwiler-Fortune (Duval), Vice-Chair, Organization
Meghan Magamoll (Marion), Vice-Chair, Finance
Jennifer Vigne (Sarasota), Immediate Past Chair
Alaina Barron (Okeechobee), Member At-Large
Shaunda Burdette (Citrus), Member At-Large
Eric Clark (Leon), Member At-Large
Janice Kershaw (Brevard), Member At-Large
Chuck Licis-Masson (Monroe), Member At-Large
right)
Chris Clore, Administrative and Database Coordinator
Tracy Burger, Director of Organization and Member Development
Mary Chance, President/CEO
Jayne Moraski, Director of Grants and Programs
Lura Murfee, Program Coordinator – New Worlds Reading Initiative
By the numbers: It has been another stellar year for Florida’s local education foundations.
More than $100 million in collective revenue was raised by Consortium members. A reported 14,328 volunteers were engaged. The Resiliency Through the Community initiative we wrapped up in September directly impacted 838,000 students in 50 school districts and involved more than 350 local community organizations.
As impressive as those numbers are, they don’t begin to tell our story. Quite simply, the trajectory of the lives of countless young people were changed. Thousands of teachers were supported and elevated in their communities by our Consortium members. From coast to coast, students are having learning experiences made better by the work we do.
We hope this 2024 Impact Report gives you a sense of the scope and scale of impact we’ve had this year through the hard work of our education foundations. We’ve woven in a few stories to illustrate how consequential that impact is. Just know there are thousands more stories between the lines, and the continued commitment of our partners and members is what makes it all happen!
Florida is an incredibly diverse state and home to ten of the nation’s 50 largest school districts. Those large, urban districts have more than half the state’s nearly 3.1 million students with an average of 170,000 students each. In contrast, 26 rural Florida counties have enrollments of less than 10,000 students each. The associated local education foundations are diverse as well in their size, scope of work and structure, and collectively tell a powerful story of impact.
$100 million raised annually
$227 million held in assets
$33.39 per student raised annually
At the intersection of community and public school district interests, local education foundations play a vital role in connecting businesses to education, leveraging private dollar investments for innovation and expanded resources.
$16 million value of resources provided through teacher supply stores annually School District Business and Community
Education Foundation
Local education foundations are connected to both school districts and the greater community. School district leaders serve as ex officio members of most education foundation boards and 80% of the 1,100 volunteer board members are from the private sector.
Many local education foundations were established in the early 1980’s when the Florida Legislature first allowed the establishment of direct support organizations in each district. Thus, a few are celebrating their 40th anniversaries this year.
Over the lifecycle of most education foundations, programming typically starts with classroom grants for teachers and/or scholarships for students.
Over the past four decades, we’ve seen program mix morph into six distinct buckets of work:
• Resourcing improvement in teacher and student skills and achievement – including classroom grants, efforts to increase FAFSA completion and supplemental STEM education experiences;
• Recognition of achievement and response to needs – including teacher recognition programs, teacher resource stores and technology support for students;
• Direct services for teachers and students – including student mentoring and scholarships, college and career planning and teacher professional development;
• Leveraging change on issues at the school and district levels – including addressing achievement gaps for students, seed funding for new school programs and leading efforts to increase early literacy development;
• Creating change and taking action to address critical education issues – including ensuring access to arts for all students, hosting voter forums and advocacy for tax referendums; and
• District-directed initiatives – including managing school-level fundraising accounts, funding teacher back-to-school events and acting as fiscal agent for district initiatives that require outside support.
To support the myriad ways foundations serve their school communities, Consortium members find networking and peer to peer interaction is invaluable to their learning and growth. Through seven different virtual learning communities, local education foundation staff are able to learn and connect with one another, sharing leading practices and tackling common programmatic and organizational issues together.
In some instances, the member interactions fostered by the Consortium result in colleagues coming together to take action together.
Inspired by national conferences and with an interest in deeper learning and collaboration, members of the Consortium’s Teacher Resource Store Learning Community held their first Mini-Conference in May 2024, attended by representatives from 17 stores across the state.
The Consortium’s second annual ConnectED conference brought together 200 national, state and local leading voices on three big topics in education September 18-19 in Orlando. Through plenaries, breakout sessions and networking receptions, participants learned from and engaged with others with diverse perspectives and experiences who all care deeply about education.
“Besides being a great conference with top-notch speakers and sessions, it was wonderful to have local knowledge shared and valued alongside national thought-leaders,” said Dr. Stacy Baier, Helios Education Foundation Senior Vice President, Florida Community Engagement, Operations and Strategic Partnership. “So often we are in our own silos. The Consortium has the opportunity to bring us all to the table for robust conversations and shared learning.”
Kathleen Mathers with the Education Strategy Group kicked off the conference by making the case for how education advocates can ensure economic mobility for all students through building a high-quality education system aligned with workforce demand. Acknowledging the pace of change and impact of emerging technology present challenges, she emphasized the importance of aligned experiences to help each student discover their passion and attain a demand-driven career.
Following the plenary and through a varity of breakout sessions, participants dug into how local education foundations and partner organizations provide career exposure, education guidance and career/technical education opportunities for students.
Vince Marigna with the Breakthrough Collaborative kicked off the second big topic of the day with strategies for sparking interest in the education profession through early exposure to the career and providing ongoing support to retain teacher talent. Florida’s 2025 Teacher of the Year Jaime Suarez shared her journey to becoming a top teacher and participants had the opportunity to learn more about the state’s new teacher apprenticeship program from Josey McDaniel from the Florida Department of Education.
Breakout sessions gave participants the chance to dive into teacher recruitment and retention solutions including “grow your own” high school pathways, teacher workforce housing solutions, fostering teacher well-being, and how district teacher of the year honorees can encourage colleagues through education foundation-supported leadership councils.
Vito Borello with the National Association for Family, School and Community Engagement was the keynote for the final plenary session of the day, sharing his perspective on creating the conditions to advance authentic family and community engagement. Using the analogy of a space launch, he emphasized the shared responsibility of families, schools and communities on the shared mission of helping children realize their potential.
The “Parents Who Lead” model for building the capacity of parents as leaders and advocates was shared and Florida’s chronic absenteeism data was explored in breakout sessions. Participants could also choose to learn about programs to engage families and communities in promoting a culture of reading and to bridge Florida’s “digital divide.”
While Florida has five of the top ten largest school districts in the U.S., almost half (28) of the state’s countywide school districts have less than 10,000 students enrolled in K-12 schools. These rural communities have some of the lowest post-secondary attainment rates in the state and are generally lacking in resources and ongoing concerted efforts to promote post-secondary education and awareness of Florida’s education and career pathways landscape.
With support from the Gates Foundation, a cohort of rural education foundations is building their capacity to become active advocates for creating stronger career pathways for students through training, access to expertise and support, funding for related activities, coaching and peer support.
As Florida’s advocate for promoting employment for persons with disabilities, The Able Trust focuses some of their programs on helping high school students with disabilities explore jobs or postsecondary education in in-demand fields. Through a new partnership with the Consortium local education foundations in 15 school districts are now developing local initiatives that connect students with a plan for their future beyond high school.
In the initial pilot projects last school year, some education foundation leaders found the program is also inspiring students in danger of not graduating high school to persist and enroll in career/technical programs accessible to them and aligned with their interests.
The HCA Healthcare Foundation awarded their first statewide impact grant in Florida this year to the Consortium: A $1 million three-year initiative focused on addressing the workforce gap in the healthcare industry.
Local projects in 15 school districts focus on activities that lead to nursing or allied healthcare field careers. Funding is supporting career exploration activities, work-based learning, and assistance in earning industry credentials.
“We are passionate about investing in the communities we serve and developing the next generation of healthcare leaders and professionals,” said Joanne Pulles, vice president of community engagement at HCA Healthcare and president of the HCA Healthcare Foundation.
While all Florida students can earn Bright Futures scholarships, as the primary funder of the program, the Florida Lottery recognizes that many – particularly students of low socio-economic backgrounds and aspiring first-generation college students – need support to meet the criteria and prepare for post-secondary success.
Knowing that college readiness and access programs are prominent focus areas for many local education foundations, the Florida Lottery funds a project in each of their nine lottery districts annually. Test preparation, workshops, college application fees, and FAFSA completion efforts are all part of local program efforts to put more students on a path to Bright Futures.
Preparing for life after high school is more than choosing a career path and completing a college or technical career credential program. Developing knowledge in how to manage personal finances and confidence in financial matters are vital to success in life.
Through an ongoing partnership with Wells Fargo, local education foundations provide hands-on experiences, simulated life scenarios and practical knowledge for more than 3,100 students in 11 school districts this school year.
The impact is significant and potentially life-changing for the participating students. Seventy-eight percent of last year’s participants reported they gained confidence in finances and 75% completed a personal budget.
When Florida schools had to abruptly switch to distance learning in March 2020, the extent of our “digital divide” became painfully apparent. Solving for the lack of adequate devices and connectivity were the immediate issues, but persistent challenges of accessing education resources, navigating the digital landscape effectively and online safety remained.
By helping families and caregivers develop essential digital literacy skills and access school communication platforms early in their child’s education journey, AT&T is building a strong foundation for student success.
Older students served are set up to leave high school with stronger skills in navigating online resources. Overall, last school year 94% of the nearly 2,000 directly impacted program participants demonstrated measurable increase in digital literacy skills.
The majority of Florida’s local education foundations have scholarship programs, matching students with sponsored scholarships and easing the burden for families, donors and school counselors by providing a streamlined, onestop process. Together, Consortium members award an estimated $17.6 million in scholarships annually.
Similarly, the Consortium facilitates scholarship programs for partners seeking to support students statewide or regionally with one contribution and common eligibility requirements.
Tampa-based Suncoast Credit Union relies on the Consortium to manage scholarship awards in their 25-county service territory. The Raymond James Charitable Foundation turned to the Consortium to identify eligible scholarship recipients through the statewide network to meet the terms of an endowed trust fund.
One experience on a flight simulator and one amazing teacher is all it took for Reagan Baker’s career plan to take flight.
She enrolled in the academy, followed up with a discovery flight and was hooked. She worked part-time to pay for flight hours and earned her private pilot’s license the summer before her senior year of high school. She’s now a freshman in the Auburn University School of Aviation and well on her way to becoming a commercial pilot.
Noting the growth in aerospace and aviation jobs projected for Central Florida, the Education Foundation of Lake County wanted to give more students early exposure to the career field. They purchased a flight simulator and airplane kit for an aviation club at Umatilla High School that is open to all students in the school district.
Students in that club worked alongside volunteers from the Lake County Retired Pilots Association to build a RV 121S airplane from the kit which they recently sold for $100,000. Funds are being reinvested in more hands-on aviation learning opportunities for Lake County students. The education foundation also recently purchased a flight simulator for an elementary school so younger students could get introduced to the career field.
Consortium members have leveraged scholarship dollars with matching funds from the Florida Prepaid College Foundation since its founding in 1987. Today, 24 local education foundations manage the Take Stock in Children scholarship and mentoring program in their school district and an additional 600 one-year prepaid scholarships have been awarded through the Consortium’s Jump Start program – all with matching funds from Florida Prepaid.
Early exposure, hands-on experiences, industry advocates and the commitment of a local education foundation can all add up to nothing less than lifechanging experiences for Florida students!
Our Consortium facilitates a growing number of partnerships that involve introducing students to career pathways, from discovering and exploring jobs they didn’t know exist to taking next steps for life after high school.
Approximately half of Florida’s education foundation investments are focused on teachers through an array of locally driven programs. At their core, these efforts are all about empowering, engaging and elevating Florida teachers.
In other professions, when an employee comes up with an innovative idea to improve outcomes, they may get rewarded. For teachers, they are generally expected to figure out a way to pay for putting their idea into action.
That’s where classroom grants come into play. Florida’s local education foundations provide more than $13.5 million in classroom and school grants annually. Each individual grant may be relatively small at $500 or $1,000 a piece, but the sense of agency for each teacher recipient is truly priceless.
Similarly, workers in most fields have adequate supplies to get their job done. On average, educators spend $500 or more personally to support their students and classrooms each year. Providing essential supplies for students who come to school without them is a daily occurrence for caring teachers.
Annual Teacher of the Year celebrations are a powerful way to elevate the teaching profession for local communities. Red carpet events drawing capacity crowds are hosted each year by many of Florida’s local education foundations.
In addition to recognizing and rewarding top teachers, the galas remind citizens how essential the profession and strong schools are to communities of all sizes. Aside from any tangible recognition, the heartfelt student testimonials often shared at Teacher of the Year events can go a long way to uplift and inspire dedicated teachers.
Attracting young people to the teaching profession is an ongoing challenge and retaining teachers is a top challenge in school districts nationwide. A growing number of Florida’s local education foundations are stepping up to help with teacher recruitment and retention in a variety of ways.
Today, nearly half of Florida’s local education foundations manage free resource stores where teachers can pick up what they need for their classroom and their students without dipping into their own pocket. The value of supplies distributed this year exceeded $16 million.
Financial support for paraprofessionals aspiring to become teachers and support for high school teaching career academies are education foundation teacher recruitment strategies. Retention strategies including teacher leadership academies, teacher-led professional development, paid fellowships and programs that focus more holistically on teacher well-being.
This school year the Consortium is providing support for a cohort of
members to work with their school district leaders on developing innovative staffing models that can make the profession more sustainable and improve outcomes for students.
Imagine being an 8-year-old whose home is destroyed in a hurricane. Then imagine that same child learning they wouldn’t be returning to their school because it was also devastated in the storm.
All 320 students at Gulf Beaches Elementary in Pinellas County lost their school from Hurricane Helene, news they received after many of them lost their homes entirely.
School district leaders know how important the sense of stability and comfort is to traumatized students. They worked through the weekend after the storm to find enough space at another district school site to keep the students together. They turned to the Pinellas Education Foundation for help to quickly replace lost classroom supplies.
That leadership and collaboration meant the whole school community was able to stay together. Children were greeted by familiar faces just one week after disaster struck and they entered classrooms with similar hands-on learning materials and games from their old classrooms.
“The look of relief on the faces of parents when they learned our school would continue at a new site and the joy of the children when they saw their friends again was just incredible,” said Jen Kelly, a teacher in her fifth year at the school. “When we learned we couldn’t return to our classrooms to try to salvage some of materials and belongings it was pretty devastating. Receiving grant funds from the foundation to quickly purchase replacement items meant the world to us.”
To quickly source needed basic school supplies, Pinellas Education Foundation turned to their Consortium colleagues at the neighboring Hillsborough Education Foundation. Staff and volunteers at Hillsborough’s “Teaching Tools” free
resource store for teachers loaded up their delivery truck with $75,000 worth of items and headed across the bridge to support their friends in need.
More than $2 million in relief and recovery support for teachers, school staff and students impacted by 2024 hurricanes was provided by 24 education foundations across the state.
The Florida Disaster Fund is the State of Florida’s official private fund established to assist Florida’s communities as they respond to and recover during times of emergency or disaster. In partnership with the public sector, private sector and other non-governmental organizations, the Florida Disaster Fund supports response and recovery activities.
Local education foundations were once again called upon to get the disaster relief and recovery funds into the hands of impacted teachers and school staff after hurricanes Helene and Milton. They quickly developed and deployed processes to help with insurance deductibles, temporary housing, transportation and lost possessions.
In addition to the $1.25 million from the Florida Disaster Fund, local businesses and citizens stepped up to help their school communities.
“Families and businesses rely on schools to reopen as soon as feasible after disaster strikes,” said Shaunda Burdette, executive director of the Citrus County Education Foundation. “That’s hard to do when your bus drivers, cafeteria workers and teachers are displaced and distracted. Being able to offer some relief and support in their time of need lets our school communities know they are seen and valued.”
Perseverance • Grit • Gratitude • Responsibility
Responsible Decision-Making • Critical Thinking & Problem Solving • Self-Awareness & Self-Management
Mentorship • Citizenship • Honesty • Empathy
In alignment with the state’s adoption of student resiliency standards, the Consortium partnered with the Florida Department of Education to build student Resiliency Through the Community with local education foundation programs focused around 11 skills or characteristics.
Consortium members in 50 districts consulted their school mental health coordinators and school safety officers, assessed opportunities and gaps in services with community organizations and built their own organizational capacity as they embarked on developing local initiatives.
Through September 2024, $21.3 million was leveraged to engage:
• 838,000 students
• 67,275 families
• 34,150 teachers
• 350 community organizations
“Part of the beauty of this groundbreaking opportunity is that we were encouraged to have conversations with both our school districts and local organizations so we could develop initiatives that made sense for our community,” said Janice Kershaw, CEO of the Brevard Schools Foundation. “We discovered synergy with our Space Coast Health Foundation and were able to develop complementary efforts and engage additional partners to reach more families.”
Manatee Education Foundation: After interactive programs on the importance of good decision making, the average GPA of student participants increased from 2.69 to 3.17!
Foundation for Seminole County Public Schools: Teacher training and a series of family and student town halls focused on overcoming adverse childhood experiences, self-awareness and self-management.
Brevard Schools Foundation: All 5,000 6th grade students received a copy of The Coffee Bean book, a simple lesson about creating positive change. Co-author Jon Gordon spoke to the students and teachers held classroom book studies. In the period after the “Resiliency Reads” program, Suicide Risk Inventory (SRI) rates – the percentage of students asking for mental health help – dropped by 31%.
St. Lucie County Education Foundation: Through a variety of community partnerships, students developed skills in responsible decision-making and citizenship. Efforts also involved home visits for chronically absent students which resulted in a 2% reduction in chronically absent students, equating to an additional 900 in school every day.
Baker County Education Foundation: A partnership between the school district and a community organization focused on building resiliency skills with 40 high school students at risk of dropping out. Unused space in a school was repurposed for positive after-school and weekend activities for youth in an underserved area to build resiliency skills and establish trust in the neighborhood.
Education Foundation of Okeechobee: Resiliency skills were embedded in a new high school firefighter career and technical education academy, along with developing of teamwork skills and igniting a passion for public service in participating students. “Firefighting is all about getting back up again after you get knocked down,” said Amber Cook, a 2024 graduate of the inaugural class who is now employed by Okeechobee County Fire and Rescue.
Nassau Education Foundation: Hope Squad, a national suicide prevention program, was established in three Nassau County high schools. Monthly activities focused on building skills to overcome adversity and help others through difficult times.
The Foundation for Lee County Public Schools: The #LeeListens initiative and peer-to-peer mentoring programs fostered student empathy and resources for students in need. “Our students were yearning to be heard. We didn’t realize how much they needed this. One student stopped me in the hallway just to tell me how much this event changed the culture of the school,” said Gateway High School Assistant Principal Trevon Davis.
Education Foundation of Palm Beach County: Through case management and wrap around services, chronic absenteeism was reduced by 93% of the students served. Efforts also focused on bringing diverse community partners together to identify gaps in services for families and address systemic issues.
The School District Education Foundation Matching Grant Program, adopted by the Florida Legislature in 2000, is a cornerstone of the success of Florida’s local education foundations.
School District Education Foundation Matching Grant Program
State funds are provided as challenge grants to public school district education foundations for programs that serve low-performing students, technical career education, literacy initiatives, Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) Education initiatives, increased teacher quality and/or increased graduation rates.
Through the 2023-24 school year, the State of Florida had appropriated nearly $75 million, which has been leveraged with private sector contributions to total more than $175 million for eligible local projects.
In 2023-2024:
P Total investment of $14.9 million.
P $6 million in state allocation matched with $9.2 million in private-sector investment
P 57 school districts participated, and 106 projects were funded
P 1,234,178 total students and 54,838 teachers directly impacted
P Participating education foundations serve 99% of Florida’s K-12 public school students
Enhancing Education, Jackson County Education Foundation
The Jackson County School District Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs promote practical application of academic advancement by providing the bridge to job training and employability skills. 100% of students participating in one project passed the Florida Ready to Work exam to enhance their employability.
Read2Succeed, Foundation for Orange County Public Schools
Read2Succeed (R2S) serves K-3 students in Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) who are below benchmark in their reading skills. 96% of participating 2nd grade students showed growth in fluency. Teacher testimony: “This program is fantastic! I saw such growth and confidence in such a short time with my students.”
PIVOT Program, Investing in Kids (INK!), St. Johns
The Gaines Alternative School serves students who have significant behavioral violations and need emotional and academic support. The St. Johns education foundation -- Investing in Kids (INK!) -- focused matching funds and local contributions on resources for the school’s PIVOT program. Both academic and behavior outcomes increased by 14.62 points and total out-ofschool suspension time decreased from 180 days to 123 days.
Preparing Students to Succeed, Sumter Schools Enhancement Foundation
Sumter supplemented college and career mentoring programs for students from low-income families and helped to create a culture of lifelong learners. 100% of high school senior participants in the program graduated on time and there was a 200% increase in participation in the senior hiring fair.
The foundation collaborated with their school district and Duke Energy to offer students multiple opportunities to engage in hands-on STEM activities. This included hosting a STEM Challenge aimed at improving the quality of life in Madison County and supporting participation in state-level STEM competitions. The 2023-24 initiative successfully expanded STEM education opportunities for students throughout the district.
The Education Foundation for Alachua County, Empowering Teachers Through Hands-On Learning
The education foundation hosted ElevatED -- a day-long teacher-led conference. They also held an end-of-year new teacher session where more than 100 first -year teachers shared their experiences and heard testimonials from colleagues. Of the participating teachers, 96.6% reported they will implement something they learned into their classrooms.
Grants for Excellence, Escambia County Public Schools Foundation
The Grants for Excellence program funded 17 grants ranging from $2,500 and $7,500 focused on literacy, low-performing students, and increasing graduation rates. Highlights from this year’s grant recipients include:
• 4th and 5th grade science students across the district increased proficiency from 21.4% to 71.8%,
• 5th grade students at a high-needs school improved STEM proficiency from 14% to 57%
• One school’s first grade students reported 90% of the 200 students showed improvement
Apple Mart supplied teachers with free school and professional supplies for their classroom as a way to support classroom instruction and boost teacher morale. A total of 1,101 teachers shopped in the three Apple Mart stores this year, a 9% increase over last year.
Florida’s local education foundations foster deep public/ private-sector partnerships to innovate learning and power student potential in nearly every county-wide school district throughout the state. Countless partners are involved in this work each year and the Consortium annually recognizes an outstanding statewide partner that elevates the impact of local education foundations from coast to coast.
This year’s honoree the Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation, was recognized with their Helping Students Explore and Excel in Health Career Pathways Across Florida program. Through this partnership with the Consortium, DeLuca directly impacted 22,128 students in 14 school districts over the past two years through career exploration activities and student support for successfully earning healthcare credentials in high school.
The resulting partnership has paved the way for other Consortium partners to join DeLuca in investing in students earning CTE credentials in high school and having a better understanding of the array of in-demand, high-wage careers in their community.
math instructional coach at Champion Elementary in 2021 where her principal credits her for leading “seismic shifts” in improving students’ mathematical understanding and performance.
Nominated for the statewide award by the FUTURES Foundation for Volusia County Schools, Fagerstrom demonstrated significant impact from a classroom grant she was awarded by the foundation this past school year. She also led her school’s inaugural Math Night at her local Publix Supermarket where students and their families demonstrated the practical use of math skills in real-life contexts, making learning both fun and relevant.
Awards – Dr. David Moore (Indian River) and Carol Cook (Pinellas)
“STAR” superintendents and school board members actively champion their education foundation and make it a priority to increase business and community involvement in their schools. Nominated by local education foundation leaders, honorees are surprised with the recognition at the Florida School Boards Association and Florida Association of District School Superintendents joint conference in December.
Emily Fagerstrom, Volusia County Schools current Teacher of the Year, received statewide recognition and an award of $2,000 from the Consortium and Florida Power & Light Company at the Florida Department of Education Teacher of the Year Gala in Orlando July 25. She was chosen from among 67 county-wide teacher of the year honorees as the Consortium’s annual “Invested in Excellence” recipient for seeking additional resources and developing new strategies to innovate learning for students.
Fagerstrom began her career in Volusia County schools as a substitute teacher and was named First Year Teacher of the Year at Port Orange Elementary in 2015. She was named
Dr. David Moore has been superintendent in Indian River for four years and has made galvanizing community support for public schools a priority. In the past year, he acknowledged structural challenges with the district’s associated education foundation and charted a deliberate path to launch a new Indian River Education Fund to encourage the private sector to become meaningfully engaged in public schools.
Carol Cook caught the attention of Pinellas County community members as a tireless advocate for students and was recruited to run for school board in 2000. The former elementary teacher and PTA leader went on to serve on the school board for 24 years. She played a pivotal role on the foundation’s grants and scholarship committee, ensuring limited resources were used for maximum impact on classroom innovation and proactively helping teachers secure additional funding sources for classroom needs.
The Jim McKenzie Consortium Champion Award is presented annually to a local education foundation leader who exemplifies the Consortium’s values of collaboration, connection, leadership and excellence. Bradford County Education Foundation’s Cheryl Canova was surprised with the award and recognized by her peers for actively engaging with the Consortium and sharing her time and resources with colleagues.
Canova was selected for her consistent engagement with the Consortium over many years. She has tapped into new resources and funding for Bradford County students and teachers offered by the Consortium and eagerly shares their all-volunteer education foundation’s best practices in fundraising and program work with colleagues across the state.
The Staff Superstar Award is presented annually to a local education foundation staff member who steps up to support and share resources with their peers throughout the state through the Consortium. The Education Foundation of Palm Beach County Director of Grants and Programs Jennifer Ethridge was named the 2024 recipient for her leadership in the statewide organization, chosen from among 360 staff members of local education foundations throughout Florida for her leadership and support of colleagues in other school districts.
own learning and development while serving as a leader in their organization and through engagement with the Consortium. INK – Investing in Kids (St. Johns) Executive Director Cathy Newman was this year’s honoree for her engagement in the statewide organization.
As the leader of the education foundation in St. Johns County, Newman routinely shares with her colleagues at quarterly Consortium conference and taps into new resources to benefit local students and teachers. She recently successfully completed the Certificate in Education Foundation (CEFL) program of the National Association of Education Foundations (NAEF). Newman consistently seeks opportunities to develop her skills and knowledge through active learning with both the Florida Consortium and NAEF.
Volunteer Florida ‘Excellence in Volunteerism’ Honoree – Micheal Mills (Marion)
For the eighth year, the Consortium and Volunteer Florida have teamed up to surprise a local volunteer with the “Excellence in Volunteerism” award. Public Education Foundation of Marion County’s Vice Chair Michael Mills was recently selected from among 14,000 local education foundation volunteers throughout Florida as a recipient of the award.
Ethridge is known for taking a hands-on approach when supporting peers, including providing step-by-step guidance for peers in Marion and Okeechobee counties in recent years to support them in adopting new approaches to career and technical education programs. She actively participates and shares in Consortium learning communities and conferences.
The Joe Rizzo Learner & Leader Award is presented annually to a local education foundation leader who is active in their
Mills’ own journey from Marion County student to local business leader is a full circle story. Once a Take Stock in Children participant, he now volunteers as a mentor in the program and is an advocate for the power of mentoring. He hosts after-hours “Coffee and Conversations” gatherings for other mentors as the owner of Symmetry Coffee in Marion County. In 2022 he was named the Alumni of the Year for the statewide Take Stock in Children program.
He actively champions the education foundation’s mission to provide financial and material support for Marion County Public Schools students and teachers. His coffee shop is considered a go-to business partner for local public schools, and he was named Volunteer of the Year for the education foundation last year and now serves as vice chair of the volunteer board.
It may seem an odd thing to say, but teaching in the one-teacher, oneclassroom model can be lonely. With the busy pace of school days, teachers often don’t have time to develop relationships with their peers. An estimated 50% of teachers say they never get an opportunity to observe their colleagues in the classroom, yet the majority say their favorite professional development is learning is job-embedded and involves peer-to-peer learning.
Through an ongoing partnership with Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), local education foundations are providing the space and time for STEM educators to learn from their peers through real-world, realtime classroom observations and teacher-led sessions focused on instructional techniques. The program is having a positive impact on strengthening collaboration, instruction and even on teacher retention.
Here’s what 160 participating teachers in 12 school districts had to say about the program impact:
• 97% developed relationships with colleagues • 95% tried new STEM instructional strategies
On a more holistic level, 86% of participating teachers also said experiences like EmPOWERing STEM Educators made them more likely to stay in the classroom or in education administration.
“This format allows for growth of my professional practice and gets teachers away from the ‘teaching in a bubble’ feeling or ‘on an island’ feeling. Sharing a lesson was good, observing other lessons was great.”
- Palm Beach County Teacher
$20 from every Support Education specialty plate goes directly to schools in your county for
• Classroom innovation
• School supplies
• Education enrichment programs
• Student scholarships
• Supporting and recognizing teachers
• Extra help and mentoring for at-risk students
More than $15.6 million has been raised for education enhancement since the Consortium introduced the original support education tag in 1994. Learn more and purchase online at licensetolearnfl.com. Want Bragging Rights for Your Out-of-State University?
If you want bragging rights for your team, purchase your Florida plate for the University of Georgia, University of Alabama or Auburn University at your local tax collector’s office. Proceeds from all three tags benefit public education in the county of purchase.
$25,644,105
Funding Sources
Now in its second decade, the ‘Just a Dollar’ campaign by Amscot Financial has cumulatively raised more than $1.6 million, benefiting students across the company’s growing Florida service territory.
Each year in a selected month, the Tampa-based financial solutions provider, asks its customers to contribute $1 to their local education foundation, providing targeted support for students and teachers and provides a corporate match for a significant portion of individual contributions.
“The generosity of our customers profoundly impacts the lives of many children in our communities,” said Ian MacKechnie, founder and CEO of Amscot Financial. “The success of this campaign underscores the importance of community support in addressing the educational needs that are not fully covered by school budgets and tax dollars.”
Benefitting local education foundations allocate their share of funds to support students, teachers, and schools in targeted areas of need, such as providing essential classroom materials to students who might otherwise lack access to such resources.
* as of June 30, 2024
The 2025 ‘Just a Dollar’ campaign will be held in February.
The Consortium serves as the primary link between local education foundations and statewide and national partners who seek to invest in Florida’s students. We’re uniquely positioned to understand the interests of funders and ensure dollars are invested in classroom opportunities and communities that best align with a partner’s goals.
Amscot Financial
AT&T
Gates Foundation
Florida Lottery
Florida Power & Light Company
HCA Healthcare Foundation
Helios Education Foundation
The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation
Raymond James Charitable Foundation
Suncoast Credit Union
The Able Trust
Wells Fargo
Consortium Champions
Duke Energy Foundation
Florida Prepaid College Foundation
Marketing Partners
Florida Healthy Kids
Florida Prepaid College Program
AwardSpring
Backpack Gear
Bloomerang
Charity for Change
Although governed by its members, the Consortium’s Strategic Advisory Council of state and national leaders serves as an advisory board to the Consortium, providing insights and helping leaders stay engaged and relevant on key education issues.
Stacy Baier, Senior VP Florida, Helios Education Foundation
Mark Brewer, President & CEO, Community Foundation of Central Florida
Kevin Byrne, CEO, Frederick A DeLuca Foundation
Dan Challener, President, Public Education Foundation of Chattanooga (TN)
David Dawkins, Sr VP for Diversity and Inclusion, Wells Fargo
Ashley Dietz, CEO, Florida Philanthropic Network
Frank Gettridge, Executive Director, The Philanthropic Collaborative for Education
LaQuitta Ghent, VP of Engineering for Customer Delivery, Duke Energy
Gordon Gillette, Former CEO Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County
Mike Grego, Former Superintendent Pinellas County Schools
Charles Hokanson, Consultant
Collaborative Classroom
Destination Knowledge
EverFI
Feathr
Good News! Book Fair
Holocaust Learning Experience
Level All
Publix Super Market Charities
Qgiv
RhythmQ
School Specialty
TD Charitable
WozEd
Xello
Andrea Messina, Executive Director, FL School Boards Association
Karen Moore, Founder and CEO, Moore Communications
Susan Moxley, Former Superintendent Lake County Public Schools
Carolyn Nelson-Goedert, President, Florida PTA
Phil Poekert, Director, UF Lastinger Center for Learning
Teresa Rivero, Gates Foundation
David Sikes, Association Director, FL Assn of District School Superintendents
David Simmons, Attorney and Former FL Legislator
Nicole Washington, Education Consultant
Michele Watson, CEO, Florida Alliance of Children’s Councils and Trusts
Michele White, Executive Director, Florida Association of School Administrators
The Consortium is a Regional Partner of the New Worlds Reading Initiative, Florida’s free at-home literacy program that helps eligible VPK - 5th grade students strengthen literacy skills and foster a lifelong love of reading. Each month, eligible kids receive a free book tailored to their interests with resources and activities for caregivers and children to use together. New Worlds Reading is administered by the UF Lastinger Center for Learning. Book titles are selected in partnership with the Florida Department of Education and Scholastic. Participating local education foundations are hosting 160 parent/caregiver workshops and community literacy events this school year.
