Foundation Funds more than $116,000 in Teacher Grants
GoTeach! Classroom grants are awarded to support innovation and creativity in teaching. On Thursday Night, October 8th, the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County awarded 73 individual grants to teachers and schools in the Palm Beach County School District. Annually, the Foundation awards GoTeach! Classroom Grants up to $1,000 for an individual teacher, and up to $1,500 for a team effort. New this year, with a generous grant from The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation, the Education Foundation was able to award GoReach! Grants of up to $3,000 each. The GoTeach! and GoReach! grants are innovative direct-to-classroom/school grants focused on the priority areas of literacy, STEM, career readiness, increasing graduation rates, supporting under-performing students and Social Emotional Learning.
The evening was held virtually with pre-production video assistance provided by students from Seminole Ridge Community High School’s TV Production Academy and the live event production produced by KOMAR Productions. Education Foundation Board Members and Palm Beach County School Board members surprised five teachers “live” with their grant award. At the end of the evening, Regions Bank added one more “live” surprise for a lucky teacher… a brand new cruiser bicycle.
Education Foundation President & CEO, James S. Gavrilos noted, “This evening is really what the Education Foundation is all about. We bring our Champions of Education, who are our local business partners, to celebrate the creativity and dedication of our local public-school teachers. The comments from the teachers just warms your heart, as they talk about feeling loved and appreciated by the wider community for the incredible work they do day in and day out.”
Deborah Bengtson, one of the “live” surprise grant award recipients, and Greenacres Elementary teacher shared, “I truly had no idea. Thank you, for everything you all do to support me and all the teachers and students in PBC. Without people like you, we couldn’t do what we do.”
The Education Foundation and GoTeach! Classroom Grant Committee would like to thank the Presenting Sponsor, The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation, along with the following partners: The Consortium of Florida Education Foundations, School District Education Foundation Matching Grant Program, the State of Florida’s ‘Support Education’ license plate program, SRG Technology, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, AeroJet Rocketdyne Foundation, Regions Bank, Pratt & Whitney, PNC Bank, The Weitz Company, Coca-Cola Beverages Florida, UnitedHealthcare, BDO, HBK CPAs and Consultants, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the Central Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce.
The Foundation encourages the community to support public education locally by purchasing a Support Education License Plate LicensetoLearnFL.com or donating online at EducationFoundationPBC.org/Donate.
