Engaging & Enriching
Student Experiences
Education Transforms Lives
99%
Local School District Education Foundation Matching Grant Program participants served 99% of Florida’s 3 million K-12 public school students!
Early Learning & Literacy
As national research suggests, early literacy development, including kindergarten readiness and third-grade literacy rates, is linked with later school achievement, high school graduation, and lifetime earning potential.
In Florida, just 50% of students enter kindergarten ready to learn and 49% of Florida’s third-graders are reading on grade-level. Unfortunately, for children living in poverty, kindergarten-readiness and third-grade literacy rates can be even lower for those who do not participate in Florida’s VPK program.
Working to address such significant gaps, education foundations have a variety of initiatives aimed at increasing literacy rates. Through the School District Education Foundation Matching Grant Program alone last school year, 93,000 students across the state were directly impacted through early learning and literacy initiatives.
Coast to Coast Impact Stories
Play-Based Instruction
Did you know? New Worlds Reading Initiative is Florida’s free program that supports students in strengthening literacy skills, building reading confidence, and encouraging a lifelong love of reading.
As a Regional Partner, the Consortium and 19 education foundations across Florida support eligible VPK through 5th-grade students who are not yet reading on grade-level in a Florida public or charter school through parent and family literacy workshops and community-based events.
Reading Mentors and Tutoring
he Purposeful Language Acquisition Yields Success (PLAYS) model, first funded by the Education Foundation of Martin County in the 2018-19 school year, provides structured 30-minute blocks of time where kindergarteners interact with real-life objects in play centers designed to promote language, literacy, and social interaction between students. After Martin shared their substantial 55% increase in mid-year learning assessments, the St. Lucie County Education Foundation introduced the model in their neighboring district.
Promoting a Love of Literacy
In addition to the specific direct-service literacy initiatives of some education foundations, many support literacy through “classroom grant” programs, funding innovative teacher, principal, and district-leader projects. Approximately 25% of funds education foundations invest in annually support classroom and school grants.
College, Career & Life Readiness
While a high school diploma was once the ticket to the middle class, that is clearly no longer the case. Experts say 72% of jobs will require a degree or credential by 2031 and Florida’s current attainment level is at 54.5%. (Source: Florida College Access Network)
Education foundations support the vision of every student having a plan for life after high school by helping students through mentoring, career exploration initiatives, sparking and expanding career academies in schools and support for the college-going process including campus visits, test preparation and FAFSA completion.
Florida’s local education foundations collectively invest more than $17 million annually in scholarships for deserving high school graduates. Many serve as an intermediary for local donors and ease the burden on families and school counselors by managing a centralized application and award process, matching students with individual scholarship criteria.
Similarly, when a partner is interested in having an impact in multiple school districts, we facilitate regional and statewide career exploration programs such as the HCA Healthcare Foundation’s Career Pathways to a Healthier Florida initiative and scholarship investments including the Suncoast Credit Union Scholars Program through our network.
Coast to Coast Impact Stories
Leveraging FL Prepaid Scholarships with Matching Funds
Born from a program model created by Champions for Learning (Collier) and in partnership with Florida Prepaid College Foundation, more than a dozen education foundations are creating a pathway for deserving high school seniors to Jump Start their future through needs-based scholarships at Florida public colleges and universities at a nearly 3:1 value for the financial investment.
This partnership is in addition to the role many education foundations play as the lead agency of Take Stock in Children,– a robust statewide program in partnership with the Florida Prepaid College Foundation.
Suncoast Scholars
When Tampa-based Suncoast Credit Union wanted an efficient and effective way to award scholarships to high school seniors in their service territory, they formed a partnership with us to make it happen through our network of local education foundations.
The local award process is facilitated by education foundations, each focusing on candidates meeting Suncoast’s criteria of demonstrated financial need and strong academic performance.
Each year deserving students receive $1,000-2,000 toward tuition and expenses at an accredited Florida 4-year college/university, 2-year college, or technical school to begin their postsecondary career.
The Rhonda H. Molk Memorial Scholarship
One connection between a previous Pinellas Education Foundation staff leader serving as a trustee for the Rhoda H. Molk Memorial Scholarship through Raymond James Charitable to us turned into eleven remarkable National Merit Scholars receiving their first $10,000 installment of four to support their college studies.
College and Career Coaching
Some of our members operate college and career centers, acknowledging that with school counselor-to-student ratios averaging 300:1, outside support is essential to help students focus on their future and access opportunities for education beyond high school.
The backbone organization for their Local College Access Network, the Education Foundation of Sarasota County employs Student Success Coaches to provide comprehensive support and guidance to students navigating college admissions and career opportunities.
FAFSA and Financial Aid Workshops
With support through partnerships with the Florida Lottery and the Gates Foundation, the Education Foundation of Okeechobee helped a first-generation American and senior at Okeechobee High School realize that there was government funding to support his dream of attending college.
Enticed to attend a FAFSA workshop with the promise of local taco truck fare by the education foundation, students learn they can afford to take advantage of opportunities to further their education.
High School College and Career Centers
To help students navigate their options after high school graduation, the Hillsborough Education Foundation opened its first Student Center of Post-Secondary Exploration (SCOPE) center at King High School in 2023 with plans to open more.
The center provides students with career and college guidance, assistance with financial aid, college application support, SAT/ACT preparation, and technical/workforce credential assistance.
Economic Education for Elementary Students
Enterprise Village, a self-contained economic education program that provides hands-on learning experiences for elementary students.
Pinellas high school students can find learning motivation through the Next Generation Entrepreneurs Program where they can develop and pitch their innovative product or service with support from area business leaders and compete Shark Tank-style for $10,000 in prize money!
Reality Fairs
Finance Park, a initiative born out of the Pinellas Education Foundation, gives middle school students another memorable and engaging learning experience through a reality-based, hands-on simulation in personal finance.
Several education foundations including the Okaloosa Public Schools Foundation are implementing smaller-scale programs through our statewide partnership with Wells Fargo aimed at improving financial literacy.
Entrepreneurial Development
The Collier County Public Schools’ Entrepreneurship Program offers students a hands-on way to learn about entrepreneurship.
Champions For Learning, the education foundation in Collier County, recruits both retired and current business professionals, who mentor student teams working through the experimentation process, providing real-world context and advice throughout the program.
Career & Technical Education Programs
Whether a student opts for a traditional college route or not, we believe career exposure and exploration should be available for all students. Florida has more than 570,000 open jobs – many of them in high-skill, high-wage industries.
Florida’s skills gap is a big challenge and with an additional 5 million residents expected by 2030, there is no better time than to address it now. Florida’s local education foundations are well-positioned to encourage the creation and expansion of career and technical education programs through our school districts by increasing investment and involvement among local and national business partners.
With statewide shortages and projected gaps for the foreseeable future, the need to increase student interest in healthcare careers and successful participation in high school health science academies is growing.
Our partnership with Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation offers a solution to these growing concerns, enabling 14 education foundations to craft locally driven initiatives that encourage middle and high school students to explore and excel in healthcare careers.
Coast to Coast Impact Stories
Healthcare Career Pathways
The Foundation for Seminole County Public Schools is refreshing the magnet program in alignment with healthcare industry partners and postsecondary healthcare facilities, providing students at the Academy of Health Centers at Seminole High School with enhanced learning experiences.
Offering students tech-rich learning experiences and exposure to complex healthcare situations through simulation, students acquire skills in the classroom that they can apply to real-life scenarios.
Public Service and Adjunct Teachers
In 2018, the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County, for instance, brought business, community, and the school district together to launch the Palm Beach Lakes Community High School Fire Science Academy.
Upon graduation, students are ready to enter the workforce with industry certifications, college credit, and critical skills. Just south in Okeechobee, the education foundation learned from Palm Beach and has launched a Dispatch and Fire career and technical education program, partnering with both the Sheriff’s Office and the Fire Department.
Starting New Certification Programs
What started as one Fernandina Beach High School Aerospace Technologies instructor’s idea to take a couple dozen students on a three-day trip to the National Flight Academy in Pensacola in 2017, turned into the students earning their private pilots’ licenses in 2022.
With support from the Nassau Education Foundation, students enrolled in the district’s three Aerospace Technologies courses work with flight simulators, operate drones, and advance through the solo flight phase in the pilot licensing process.
Driving Hands-On STEM Learning
Studies consistently show that increasing student interest in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (STEM) in the early years of their education leads to more likelihood of pursuing STEM-related careers.
School districts rely on their education foundation partners to connect them to the industries that are key to economic development for Florida to provide enriching educational opportunities for students that spark interest in STEM.
As Florida continues to grow in economic sectors like Aviation, Manufacturing, and more, it’s imperative that students have hands-on learning opportunities to give them exposure to and even a head start on in-demand careers.
Coast to Coast Impact Stories
Outdoor Classrooms and Hands-on Learning
The “Book, Line, and Thinkers” program is made possible through the partnership of the Citrus County Education Foundation and local business and community leaders. Together, they developed a day of “playing hooky” into an educational fishing field trip that reinforces science and math standards and provides memories that will last a lifetime.
Citrus leaders have generously shared the program model, encouraging other education foundations to adapt it to their communities and local waterways.
Underwater Robotics
Thanks to the Education Foundation of Gulf County, Port St. Joe High School students have the opportunity to learn about robotics, engineering, science, and mathematics while building an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV). Students learn important engineering and design skills and are exposed to exciting careers through this SeaPerch Program.
Food Forests and School Gardens
Fieldtrips and Experiences
For more than 20 years, the Brevard Schools Foundation has been introducing every 6th-grade student to the Space Coast’s rich history of space exploration through “Destination Space.” Space Week features classroom learning designed around STEM education, culminating in an inspirational study trip to Kennedy Space Center.
