The School District Education Foundation Matching Grant Program, adopted by the Florida Legislature in 2000, is an integral component of our strategy to increase private-sector interest, involvement, and investment in advancing student achievement in our local schools.
The School District Education Foundation Matching Grant Program utilizes state funding to provide $1 for $1 match incentive to increase student achievement in Florida. Funding for the program is determined each year by the Florida Legislature. With the appropriation secured, the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations (CFEF) invites local education foundations to apply for their share of matching funds at the start of the school year. They must certify that their cash match has been secured and submit applications for eligible projects. Local education foundations are responsible for reporting measurable outcomes for their initiatives with the CFEF being responsible for overall program management and reporting to the Florida Department of Education.
Funding support can be used in six programmatic areas as priorities for advancing student achievement in Florida:
- Increasing graduation rates
- Teaching quality
- Literacy
- Low-performing students
- STEM
- Career and technical education
Red Apple Supplies is a FREE teacher resource store to equip teachers with essential school supplies for their classrooms. Since opening in 2016, Red Apple Supplies has distributed more than $8 million in school supplies to Title I schools.
Learn more about the program by clicking here.
The desire from teachers to bring creative, fun, and challenging learning experiences into the classroom requires the Education Foundation to continually expand its program and grow funding for classroom grants through the School District Education Foundation Matching Grant Program.
The Education Foundation of Palm Beach County’s GoTeach! Classroom Grants encourage educators to create innovative and exciting educational opportunities for their students.
GoTeach! Classroom Grants focus on these priority areas:
- Literacy
- Career Education
- STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics).
GoTeach! Classroom Grant funding ranges from $1,000 for individual teacher proposals to $1,500 for team proposals. Once the grant application is submitted, it is reviewed by the Education Foundation’s Programs and Grants committee, which includes board members and other community leaders. Classroom grants are awarded in the fall at an awards ceremony, and grantees are required to submit results, photos, and a summary of how the funds were used at the end of the school year.
Impact of GoTeach! Classroom Grants in the 2024-25 School Year to date:
- $190,000+ in funding awarded to fund 86 grants supporting 1,439 teachers
- 59 schools served
- 22,745+ students impacted
2024-25 GoTeach! Classroom Grants funded in partnership with:
- Amazon
- An Anonymous Corporation
- Florida Blue
- Hands-On Tzedakah, Inc.
- PNC Bank
- “Support Education” License Plate Program
- The Batchelor Foundation
- NAI Merin Hunter Codman, Inc.
- The Norman Shulevitz Foundation
- The State of Florida’s School District Education Foundation Matching Grant Program through the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations
- The Stiles Nicholson Foundation
- UnitedHealthcare
- Verizon
To learn more about GoTeach! Classroom Grants, click here.
In an effort to foster post-graduate success, the Healthcare Innovation Project is a collaborative effort between the School District of Palm Beach County and the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County.
This project will expand the school district’s Medical Sciences Career Academies, impacting 24 schools that have Medical Academies throughout the district.
In the 2019-2020 school year, the Healthcare Innovation Project will provide 11 schools (10 high schools and 1 middle school) with Medical Sciences Academy Programs with cutting-edge diverse clinical patient simulators that teachers can program with a “pre-existing medical condition.” This cutting-edge equipment will provide students with hands-on learning opportunities, allowing them to meet the required clinical experiences necessary to become healthcare providers and licensed or industry certified in our modern medical world.
Impact of Healthcare Innovation Project in the 2018-2019 School Year:
- 4,500+ students impacted
- 42 teachers trained
- Based on preliminary results, 99% of Medical Academy students successfully passed and earned an industry certification prior to high school graduation allowing them the opportunity to seek and/or obtain employment in healthcare and/or STEM-related careers.
- Industry Certifications Include: Emergency Medical Responder, Certified Medical Administrative Assistant, Certified EKG Technician, Certified Patient Care Technician, Certified Pharmacy
- Technician, Certified Nursing Assistant, and Certified Personal Trainer.
Funded in partnership with the Quantum Foundation and the School District Matching Grant Program through the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations.
The Rocket Powered Robotics program supports teams competing in the FIRST Lego League and First Tech Challenge Robotics programs in Palm Beach County. This program produces champion design teams rooted in the disciplines of STEM education. It provides targeted support to five teams with participating students from over 14 district schools.
One middle and high school in the far western Glades community, where access to robotics clubs will drastically improve STEM participation and interest in STEM-related careers, will also be supported through this program by supporting robotics teams from these schools. The goal of this program is to provide student access to robotics education that stimulates knowledge and develops critical thinking skills (centered on principles of technology and engineering) by providing instructional programming customized to the individual strengths, needs, interests, and aspirations of students by working cooperatively as a team to problem-solve and compete at the District, Regional and State First Lego League Competitions.
Impact of Rocket-Powered Robotics in the 2018-2019 School Year:
- 100 students,16 teachers and hundreds of fans were impacted
- 4 robotics teams from 9 participating schools:
- The Children of the Swamp team competed at World Championship where they won in their division and placed 4th overall.
- M.A.R.S. (Mega Awesome Robotic System) competed at the Orlando and South Florida Regional Competitions and were selected as members of an alliance in both competitions.
- Pahokee Middle School, the Subaroos, caught the attention of the University of Washington and even Nasa! Read all about it HERE!
- Pahokee Middle School’s team, Codegrammers, won 1st Place in the Robot Performance at South Florida Regional and earned a bid to the First Lego League Florida Championships.
Funded in partnership with Aerojet Rocketdyne Foundation and the School District Matching Grant Program through the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations.
Impact of Stepping up STEM in Pahokee in the 2018-2019 School Year:
- 144 students and 3 teachers impacted
- Students receiving a 70% or higher on their post summative assessment:
- 89% of students enrolled in the new Environmental Science course
- 70.5% of students enrolled in the Computer Programming & Robotics course
- 66% of students enrolled in the new Marine Science course
Funded in partnership with Ventus Charitable Foundation and the School District Education Foundation Matching Grant Program through the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations.
