Evansdale Foundation Investments

Supporting Education Enrichment at Evansdale Elementary

Investment Approach

Aside from our major investments, the EEF plays a crucial role in supporting and streamlining the daily operations at our school.  Our guidelines for investment ensure that we are focusing our efforts on funding the most enriching experiences with equity across our student population. Our funding request and approval process is designed to streamline decisions and deliver support effectively throughout the school year.

Needs Identification

We work closely with Evansdale PTA, staff, and community to identify needs across the Evansdale Elementary staff and student population.

Goal Collaboration

We exchange ideas, leverage feedback, volunteer efforts, and Evansdale resources to budget targeted solutions on achievable goals.

Financial Equity

We prioritize the wellbeing and equitable distribution of education across the Evansdale Elementary community and student body.

Investment Criteria

The investment criteria guidelines are intended to help the Foundation board make high quality decisions for funding opportunities.  The criteria can be considered as a “yardstick for measuring alternatives.”

Foundation criteria is not intended to prescribe what is to be funded, but rather is used as a tool to determine the opportunities that most closely align with the Foundation mission and meet the current and long-term needs of the school.

Goal
All requests identify a clear need of the staff, school, or student body that may benefit from Foundation support.

Criteria
All requests are evaluated consistently with the investment criteria established by the foundation which ensure equity, reach, enrichment, and resource prioritization.

Mechanism
All requests are formally submitted to the Foundation for review, collaboration, impact review, and acceptance.

Investment History

a timeline of commitment

Foundation Milestones

  • 2023

    Capstone STEM Trip Funding

    Funded 5th grade field trips to Jekyll Island and Rock Eagle

  • 2022

    STEM & GaETC Development Funding

  • 2021

    STEM & Language Immersion Funding

  • 2020

    School-wide Communication Platform

    Acquire Seesaw for school-wide communication between parents and staff

  • 2019

    Library Modernization

    Transformed the school media center into a 21st Century Library

  • 2018

    LabelFrancÉducation

    Supported accreditation from French Ministry of Foreign Affairs

  • 2017

    Track Resurfacing

    The lower field track is resurfaced after years of neglect

  • 2013

    Continuing Education

    Supported the continued education our teachers in STEM, language, and core curriculum 

  • 2012

    Orton-Gillingham Funding

    Accelerated Orton-Gillingham reading program adoption by funding a full-time teacher and existing teacher training

  • 2011

    Early Intervention Prevention

    Funded the introduction of Jacqueline Whited to head off the EIP program

  • 2010

    Gifted Certifications

    Funded incentives for teachers to become Gifted Certified

Annual Contributions Summary

The following is a summary list of the investments made by the Evansdale Education Foundation since our formation in June of 2010.

Coming Soon

  • Cafeteria & Restroom Refresh
  • Language Learning Support – ESOL & French
  • Targeted Learning Support – Science, Technolgy, Engineering, Art, Math

2023:

  • $15,000 applied to 5th Grade Capstone STEM Trips to Jekyll Island & Rock Eagle
  • $13,000 applied to PTA ESTEF Grant Funds and Language (ESL/DLI) Support
  • $4,000 applied to Evansdale Leadership Council Stipends
  • $2,000 applied to French Intern Support
  • $140 applied to PK/K Center for Puppetry Arts Field Trip
  • Outdoor mulch and property refresh

2022:

  • 3 Gifted Certification Teacher Stipends
  • GaETC Professional Development Conference Support
  • Typing Club Membership,
  • Pre-K/K & 5th Grade STEM Field Trip Support
  • Teacher and Staff Appreciation
  • Leadership Team Stipends

2021:

  • French Intern Support
  • Pre-K, K Grade STEM Field Trip Support
  • Teacher and Staff Appreciation
  • Professional Development Conference Support
  • School Wide Signage in English, Spanish & French
  • Leadership Team Stipends

2020:

  • Subscription to Seesaw, our school-wide communication and student portfolio platform
  • Subscription to Little Sponges (K-2) and Savio (3-5), our French Dual-Language Immersion online language tools for adaptive practice and specific teacher assigned tasks

2019:

  • Stipends to support teachers’ Gifted and/or ESOL certification
  • 40 Chromebooks + charging table to improve ratio of students to laptops
  • Refresh of school media center and purchase of new furniture to turn the space into a 21st century library

2018:

  • Fountas and Pinnell Classroom: Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study System for K and 1st Grades.
  • Stipends to support Evansdale’s STEM Committee – a group of teachers who volunteered to work on Evansdale’s STEM certification and accreditation
  • Support for a French-language proficiency exam which helped Evansdale achieve accreditation with the LabelFranEducation seal from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • 40 Chromebooks + charging cart to improve ratio of students to laptops at school

2017:

  • STEM lab – 40 Chromebooks + charging cart, dry erase tables, furniture, Lego Early Simple Machine kits, and storage
  • STEM Committee – support to establish and training at the Georgia STEM Forum
  • Aquaponics professional learning + maintenance
  • Professional development including training on: the Orton Gillingham approach to reading, writing and spelling; Heinemann Workshops – inquired-based classroom training to teach teachers how to use these strategies in the classroom and foster curiosity; STEAM – training on ways to incorporate technology into art classes.
  • Stipends to support teachers’ Gifted and/or ESOL certification
  • Track resurfacing – the track was installed with a previous grant from Atlanta Track Club. The resurfacing/ upkeep is needed to maintain track for the school and community members who use it. Promotes wellness and physical activity.

2013:

In our fourth year we did the following. (Note: benefits will be communicated when quantified.)

  • Provided incentive for an additional homeroom teacher to become Gifted Certified.
  • Funded Daily Five training for 8 homeroom teachers to enhance Language Arts instruction in the classroom.
  • Provided stipends for 16 teachers to attend STEM training.
  • Continued momentum with off-level reading students by renewing full-time EIP reading teacher, Jacqueline Whited.
  • Paid registration fees to send Ms. Mann to a national music conference to support music instruction for all students.
  • Approved funding to grant Ms. Whited a raise, plus holiday and sick days, to align her compensation package more closely with a typical DeKalb County employee.
  • Paid for 15 teachers to receive incentives to attend summer training on Core Curriculum Math & Training.

2012:

In our third year we did the following. (Note: benefits will be communicated when quantified.)

  • Provided incentive for 1 more teacher to become Gifted Certified.
  • Hired EIP reading teacher, Jacqueline Whited, full time and provided her training in the Orton-Gillingham approach to reading to assist her with differentiated instruction.
  • Hired an instructor to provide Orton-Gillingham training in the summer for up to 20 teachers.
  • Paid for 10 teachers to receive differentiated instruction in reading for the fall.

2011:

In our second year we did the following to bring almost $30,000 in additional annual funding to the school.

  • Provided incentives for 4 more teachers to become Gifted Certified.
  • Provided funding for training in differentiated instruction in reading and math for 23 teachers.
  • Hired Early Intervention Program (EIP) reading teacher, Jacqueline Whited, part time to assist with challenged readers and provide classroom support.

2010:

In our inaugural year we provided incentives for 5 teachers to become Gifted Certified. This small investment resulted in an additional $16,000 in annual funding to be utilized to support the entire school.

Corporate Sponsorship

Corporate Sponsors play a crucial role in meeting our fundraising objectives by supporting campaign targets, recurring donations, and through our donation matching program.