Message from our President, Duane Bullock
The SCASD Education Foundation was founded in 2015 with a simple mission: to create opportunities for students. Today, its signature fund, the Mardi Lowry McDonough ’87 Student Opportunity Fund & Grant Program, distributes grants in the fall and spring every year, making the visions of our educators, teachers, and coaches a reality.
Grants have funded 150+ proposals at every school across the district. In total, nearly $225,000 has been awarded, thanks to YOU, our generous donors. The fund is the beneficiary of this year’s Maroon & Gray Society Celebration at 6:00 PM, Friday, May 2, at Centre Hills Country Club. We will induct eight honorees, including alumni and retired educators, into the Maroon & Gray Society. Read more about them and find out how you can get tickets.
We chose Mardi’s Fund this year because the number of grant applications from teachers continues to grow, with over 100 requests totaling $100,000+ in the most recent cycle alone. You can see that it’s important for us to grow the fund with new donors and donations.
Grants have enabled innovation inside and outside of classrooms. I recently had the opportunity to attend the 4th Annual Advanced Biology Elective (ABE) Research Symposium—a program that has received grant funding in several cycles. In the ABE Research Course taught by Danielle Rosensteel, students design, execute, and present independent research projects. I listened as students shared details of their research on topics like controlling the spotted lanternfly population. These students will go on to top universities and research programs, thanks to their hard work and experience in this unique course.
With grant support, SCASD Library Department hosted SCASD Reads: Animal Adventures Family Night this year, which welcomed over 2,200 attendees. Funding helped to provide over 40 stations for families to visit throughout the evening.
For several years, grants have also helped fund a field trip for the Health Professions class to visit the Whitaker Center at Hershey Medical Center for an interactive learning experience called Surgery Live. Forty students participated in the event this year.
Do these opportunities sound worthwhile to you? If so, I hope you’ll join me and other members of our district community at the Maroon & Gray Society Celebration on May 2. Your attendance will directly benefit students through this impact-generating fund, and you’ll enjoy a fun evening!
Ticket and sponsorship information for this year’s Maroon & Gray Celebration is available at scasdfoundation.org.
