The fall? Already?

I am not alone in being startled by the suddenness with which this new school year arrived.  While many parents are likely happy to get back into the daily routines that the school year brings, I admit to relishing the lack of programmed schedule that comes with summer weeks.  I often joke that I am worse than my own children when it comes to accepting the arrival of the new school year.

I found a way to usher in the school year that would excite even the most reluctant summer revelers, however.  On August 25th, teachers and staff reported back to work for the new school year, and CEEF was fortunate enough to be a part of their early-morning assembly with the presentation of the annual CEEF teacher awards.  This year, we proudly honored CEMS music teacher Rebecca Bean and CEMS 6th-grade teacher Joe Doane with the Brownell and Thompson Awards, respectively.

I was lucky to be able to take part in the presentation as CEEF's current president.  The teacher award presentation is one of the most uplifting and gratifying moments of the CEEF calendar, allowing us to recognize the phenomenal contributions of some of our very special staff.  (You can read about the history of these awards as well as about the current recipients within our website pages under "Awards."  You can also read about the recipients in the Cape Courier's Sept. 5, 2009 issue.) 

One of the most thrilling aspects of the award presentation is the exuberant way in which the staff respond to the announcement of their colleagues' names.  It is clear that there is a great deal of respect and admiration among our teachers and staff, and they succeed in part because of their exceptional collaboration and cooperation. 

The beginning of the school year is filled with anxiety, eagerness, shuffling of paperwork and realigning of car-pools and work schedules.  It is a busy and often frantic time that eventually levels out into a predictable seven-day set of duties.  Our teachers and staff help our kids reach that level of relative calm, and in turn help us to do the same.  I am so grateful to have been able to thank them on CEEF's behalf for all they do at the start of this exciting and promising time of year. 

Congratulations to Rebecca and Joe, and may the beginning of the school year be as full of hope and energy as the final week will surely be.

Regards,

Christine

Holding Our Community in High Regard

Whew!  May and June are arguably the busiest months in the school calendar, and for parents of school-aged children, it often takes on a frenzy that proves difficult to keep under control.  Many find they must be on multiple sports fields at once, asist or attend end-of-year projects and presentations, and usher older children through the busy college-prep rituals.  There never seem to be enough hours in the day.

These days are busy for our teachers too.  They have more to grade, much to prepare, events to attend, and many must manage the same issues that the rest of us parents have in the spring months.  Again, Father Time ticks by without lending them more hours to get it all done!

Yet in the face of these demanding days and nights, 300 or so community members and teachers made the time to join us at the recent 2nd-annual Pasta with Purpose collaborative dinner and grants event on May 30th.  Over 250 spaghetti dinners were served (with the generous support of Willows Restaurant & Market Fresh Produce), over 20 presentations were on display, and much was learned about the fantastic work of our grant recipients.  The highlights of the evening were many; with faculty having the opportunity to share across departments and grade levels, community members getting a glimpse of programs they'd read about, and kids getting hands-on experience with fantastic cutting-edge learning tools.

I am often awed by how much our small town contributes in terms of energy, participation, and generous giving.  Even when we are at our busiest, events are well-attended, volunteers are available and willing, and good-will is abundant.  Good times or bad, poor economy or not, we are a community with much to be proud of, and I am grateful that CEEF is able to play a part in our collaborative goals.

Happy spring!

Christine

What Does CEEF Do, Anyway?

Shortly after assuming the role of president of the board of directors this January, a good friend told me that she was glad that I was president, because I’d be that much more fit to explain to her what CEEF does.  Having had a hand in many of the materials the board had produced and distributed oduring the prior 24 months, this was a frustrating admission to hear – but one I was grateful she made.

No matter the good intentions we might have, those closest to an organization can forget to continue to focus on the basics, even when progress might allow for leaving those tenets behind in order to pursue new challenges.  My friend’s honesty was a reminder to me to continue to present those basics to our community, whether as a reminder or as first-time news.

The Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation (CEEF), like many education foundations, is an independent non-profit organization whose objective is to provide funding for public education in our community.  We partner with the school district, and our mission is to fund projects and initiatives that fall outside the school budget.   Another facet of that mission is to help build community-wide support for the benefit of our schools.

So, what does all of that really mean?  We in Cape Elizabeth benefit from having a historically strong school district, a tight community, and generous community members.  On the surface, it might seem we don’t require another source of school funding.  But as one digs deeper into education in this century, it’s clear that what our tax dollars provide, even in the best of times, does not provide our teachers and students with the tools to achieve the level of education we’ve come to expect.  The founders of CEEF often used the word “excellence” when describing their ambitions.  While excellence remains our goal, what we have in our immediate view in Cape Elizabeth is the best education that we – as a community – can provide all of our children.

We have the kids – about 1,700 terrific students.  We have the teachers – some of the most dedicated, talented, energetic, and qualified in the state.  What we require in our 21^st century world are the resources needed to provide these kids and their teachers with the stage upon which they can achieve our community’s vision.  Budgets have been trimmed, slashed, and frozen; but the teachers must continue to teach and the kids learn.  How can we help?

I offer one example of how CEEF funding is making a crucial difference in our schools.  Our youngest children at Pond Cove learn the building blocks of arithmetic in K-2, just like we did.  Like some of us, many of them do not grasp the difficult concepts these earliest math lessons can present, a problem that builds swiftly if those skills are not mastered.  In today’s classroom, teachers measure our children’s understanding with a variety of assessment diagnostics, many designed by Math Lab lead teacher, Debbie Butterworth.  Using those diagnostics, the children who would most benefit from one-on-one or small-group help with a particular concept are identified.  These kids spend only the amount of time needed visiting our Math Lab, specifically to work on the concepts that need work.  The math lead teacher, with the help of her high-tech Smartboard and old-fashioned manipulatives, provides these kids with the time and attention needed to master the concept, and feel confident about moving ahead as young mathematicians.  The results of this cutting-edge collaboration proved to show a 42% increase in students’ time-telling ability last fall, showing how the input of one teacher can make such an enormous difference in so many children’s’ learning.

As all non-profits must, we rely on the financial support of our donors, and hope you consider joining our supporters if you are not currently among them.  But first, I’d like to ask that you read-up on what we’re doing.  Check out the grants history pages and see how your child, your grandchild, or your neighbor’s child might have benefited from them.  Beyond that, look at how many children received the education that YOU envision because of programs like those our donors are funding.  Ask a teacher or administrator if they feel that CEEF is helping to provide an important component of what we’ve all deemed is so important to us: a great education for our kids.

After you’ve finished, if you have any questions about what CEEF does, please contact me.  If you’ve got the time, I’ve got answers!

Regards,

Christine