The School Foundation: About Us

Accomplishments

The School Foundation establishes the Council of Parent Leaders of Florence School District 1, which represents members of the Association of Parents and Teachers (APT) and School Improvement Councils (SIC) in each of the district's 23 schools. The Council will provide an opportunity to network and develop stronger ties among parent leaders and will allow active members of the school community to create greater communication with and development of parent leaders within the district.

Mr. Charles "Chuck" J. Saylors, the 2007-2009 national president-elect of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) was the group's first guest speaker. He discussed best practices in parent organizations and highlighted four areas: finance, programs, membership and communications.

Click here to view Chuck's PowerPoint presentation to the Council of Parent Leaders.

Ongoing Progress

Since its inception, The School Foundation has done the following:

~ rejuvenated its board;
~ formalized its meeting schedule;
~ held strategic planning sessions;
~ hired Executive Director Debbie Hyler;
~ implemented sophisticated office software for financial reports and donor tracking;
~ agreed to use 4% of the endowment, plus half of the net funds raised each year for grant purposes-with the other half going into the endowment;
~ revised its grant process to include, among other items, guidelines on measuring a grant's effectiveness.

Florence School District One and The School Foundation are currently working together to jointly underwrite a needs assessment of the district.

~ Based on these results, The School Foundation will then seek out the best practices for the most critical needs.
~ The School Foundation will consider funding the best practices that require additional money beginning with the 2008 grant cycle. Then, FSD1 will provide the funding needed to continue successful grant programs.
~ Beginning in 2007, The School Foundation will implement plans to analyze more effectively the needs of FSD1 and how best the foundation's money can be applied to those needs.

About Us-Past,Present, and Future

The School Foundation
Past, Present, and Future

2000
-The primary purpose of the Foundation was to raise private donations in the form of grants to support the 15,000 students at 23 schools in Florence School District One.
-The money raised will not be used for operating, but for enhancement expenses
-This money will be used for student academics, citizenship, teacher quality,school safety and district leadership.
-The funds will be used to create a high impact across the district in the form of $10,000 or more grants
2003
-The School Foundation passed the $1 million mark -The trigger that allowed it to begin making distributions.
2004
-The first distribution of $37,000 supported Language Enrichment Acceleration Program labs in three elementary schools for intensive reading support of ALL first graders, not just those in need of help.
2005
-Due to the success of the Foundation's L.E.A.P. Lab pilot projects, the district expanded the L.E.A.P. Labs to all district elementary schools.
2006
-The School Foundation is now the largest private endowment for K-12 public education in South Carolina, with an endowment exceeding $1.4 million. Grants totaling $71,500 will help FSD1 implement the Education and Economic Development Act.
-Economic Development Director Joe King noted in a Morning News article on January 13, 2006, that our having the largest education foundation in our state does enhance the quality of life for our citizens. This positive impact on the area can be reflected in businesses such as QVC choosing our area to locate its latest expansion.
2007
-Grants are expected to exceed $100,000 this year and in subsequent years.
2008
-The School Foundation awards $94,683 in grants to Florence School District One. Dewey L. Carter Elementary School, Southside Middle School and South Florence High School received $89,863 for a joint project called "Bridging the Divide". Ten mini grants totalling $4,820 were awarded to various FSD1 schools.

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of The School Foundation consists of a diverse group of business people, civic leaders and educators committed to furthering educational excellence in Florence School District One. Individually and as a unit, this group of people utilizes its talents, abilities and connections in order to improve and develop the best educational opportunities for every student. The board seeks to build ongoing financial and grassroots support; actively creating an environment in which the community will become more aware of the need for ongoing promotion and improvement of the education community. Their role is a constant, never-ending task born from the hearts and intellects of citizens who make the education of each student a top priority. Their task investigates needs, searches for the best solutions and tries to effect practices, programs and attitudes that will continue to contribute to improving education in Florence District One.