Connecting
Communities
Building Connections to Strengthen Communities
Local education foundations are deeply rooted in their communities and directly connected to school district leaders. This gives the foundations genuine insight into the needs, resources and efforts currently underway in public schools.
Through strategic collaboration with local leaders, businesses, and donors, education foundations foster innovative programs and initiatives that directly benefit students and teachers.
30%
Approximately 30% of local education foundations support teacher-focused programs.
Coast to Coast Impact Stories
Building Digital Literacy Skills
When Florida schools abruptly switched to distance learning in March 2020, the extent of the “digital divide” became painfully apparent. Federal recovery funds have helped many school districts move to one-to-one devices for students, and creative and collaborative community solutions have addressed connectivity issues.
While these needs continue to various extents in our communities, we’ve learned it’s not enough to provide devices and sufficient broadband access. Digital literacy and skill development along with ongoing support for families struggling with the complexities and requirements of online learning is also key.
When literacy and language barriers exist, the challenges can seem insurmountable without one-on-one assistance to navigate the technology and learning platforms.
Today, a number of education foundations provide substantial support for individuals looking to increase their digital literacy skills.
Connecting Families with Devices
One individual impacted by our partnership with AT&T was a first-generation first-generation high school graduate in Citrus County who needed internet support to complete assignments and explore options for a post-secondary pathway.
With access to the internet, she was able to interrupt the cycle of generational poverty, obtain a high school diploma, and find her pathway to Withlachoochee Technical College’s nursing program!
Resiliency Through the Community
Nearly 20% of children today experience significant mental, emotional, or behavioral symptoms.
The Florida Department of Education has adopted a proactive approach to fostering student resiliency skills in alignment with the state’s health education standards. They called on us and our network to help build “Resiliency Through the Community” and 50 local education foundations developed supportive initiatives in partnership with their school districts and community organizations.
Coast to Coast Impact Stories
Student-Centered Summer Programs
In Putnam, Camp Common Ground brings students together for one week in the summer to build teamwork skills and self-care techniques. Campers work in small groups and participate in friendship-building collaborative games, arts, nature walks, cooking classes, robotics, and more.
Broward, a community united by the Broward Education Foundation following the devastating Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018, continues to build student and family resiliency with the education foundation stepping up time and time again.
Wraparound Supports for Students and Families
Working with the school district and community-based partners, the education foundation is expanding the parent advocate coalition, incorporating parent voice and choice through facilitated Family Town Hall meetings and an annual Family Fun Day.
One-on-one advising and boot camps for high school youth providing wraparound support for college, career, and life readiness and perseverance will continue through the school year via their Bridge2Life program.
Still, more stories exist across the state in communities connected through their education foundation to build resiliency.
Disaster Relief and Recovery
Managing disaster relief and recovery funding and support is not the core program work of education foundations. However, in recent years, many have stepped in to get teachers and students back to the business of teaching and learning, following the disruption of hurricanes.
“When Hurricane Ian hit, it brought tremendous devastation to our community. While we never thought of ourselves as emergency responders, we are so grateful for the outpouring of generosity and support we were able to facilitate through the foundation to help our students, teachers, and families recover,” shared a Charlotte Local Education Foundation leader.
Through our culture of shared learning among peer education foundations, leaders facing hurricane disasters in their school districts and communities were able to learn from the Bay Education Foundation’s response to Hurricane Michael in 2018. This included everything from Uber rides for displaced teachers to replacing musical instruments in damaged schools.
Coast to Coast Impact Stories
Hurricane Response and Relief
Thanks to Governor Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis through the Volunteer Florida’s Florida Disaster Fund, education foundations in communities impacted by Hurricane Ian in 2022 and Hurricane Idalia in 2023 helped schools get back to the business of learning.
Local education foundations stepped up to quickly facilitate relief and recovery support, including helping displaced teachers and school staff with unanticipated housing costs and insurance deductibles.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas Tragedy
Broward, a community united by the Broward Education Foundation following the devastating Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shototing in 2018, continues to build student and family resiliency with the education foundation stepping up time and time again.
Fostering Meaningful Connections to Make it All Happen
We believe in bringing together all stakeholders to find innovative solutions and form impactful partnerships to address pressing challenges facing our students, teachers, and schools.
We convene national, state, and local education stakeholders through “ConnectED” annually at our biggest conference of the year. Leading national voices on critical issues facing education such as teacher recruitment and retention, workforce development, and parent/caregiver engagement join with education foundations to learn and develop actionable strategies together.
I am blown away by the quality of this conference! The quality of the presenters is top notch and it’s so great to have local and national voices in the same conversations.
