FEEF establishes new President's Honorarium
FEEF established a new fund, the President’s Honorarium, to honor outgoing FEEF Board presidents and others who have contributed significantly to improving educational opportunities for students in the Fairhope schools.
The President’s Honorarium was established Dec. 2 in honor of outgoing Board President Jack Burrell. Burrell served two three-year terms on the board, including two years as president. In announcing the President’s Honorarium, vice president Ashley Baker acknowledged that Burrell served two years as president, when traditionally officers serve only one year.
“Jack served at a pivotal time for FEEF,” Baker said. “We went several months without an executive director, and Jack really stepped up to the plate to fill that void, plus led the board in a search for a new executive director. Members of the Board felt we should honor his hard work on behalf of all students in Fairhope, so we established this new fund in his honor.”
The original fund was established with $500 in donations from the FEEF Board and staff. Others wishing to honor Burrell, or other individuals who have contributed to FEEF’s mission of enhancing educational opportunities in Fairhope, may do so by sending a check to FEEF, P.O. Box 906, Fairhope, AL 36533, memo: President’s Honorarium Fund; or donate online. Honorees will receive an acknowledgment stating a gift has been made in his or her honor.
For more information, call 990-3333.
FEEF Prize Patrol . . .
Christmas comes early for teachers and students
FEEF awarded almost $60,000 in teacher and classroom grants today, the highest amount awarded in a single year during FEEF’s annual grants’ program.
From iPads to iPod Touches, many of the grant requests took advantage of emerging technology that’s expanding to education as rapidly as it is in the business world. Others were less techno-oriented such as a turtle habitat and the game of chess.
"This year, we asked teachers to think outside the box--dream big," Laura Gamard, grants chairperson said. "In the past, we divided the funds among the six schools based on student population. It really limited what teachers could ask for when the total amount for their school was so limited. This year, we put all the money into one large pot, so to speak, so they could apply for much larger grants. And they did."
The two largest grants were awarded to Fairhope Middle School and Fairhope Intermediate School. At FMS, algebra teacher Michele Jordan will purchase 30 Apple iPads for use by all Algebra students. The goal, she said, is to create a technology-based learning environment in which algebra students will take notes, practice problems, take tests, access the Internet, use a graphing calculator, access videos and tutorials, access online textbook and other Internet resources not available with a traditional print textbook; access teacher-created Promethean flipcharts; work problems and take notes which can be stored to a Web-based folder accessible from any computer; and, utilize math software apps.
At Fairhope Intermediate, teacher Betty Stejskal secured a grant for 120 NEO2s, a mobile e-learning device, much like a small laptop, for 4th, 5th and 6th grade classrooms. The goals, she said, are to increase math facts proficiency; enable students to edit and share writings while practicing keyboarding skills; and increase reading skills and comprehension by allowing students to take accelerated reading quizzes in a more timely manner.
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Phantasy of the Arts raises almost $60K for Fairhope schools
