100+ Women Who Care Select District 205 Foundation for Donation

At its August meeting, The Elmhurst chapter of 100+ Women Who Care awarded $14,900 to the District 205 Foundation for Educational Excellence to be used to fund its Study Skills Academy. This group of women is interested in positively impacting the local community by making a financial contribution to a local charity four times a year. Their process is simple: they meet four times a year, commit to donating $100 at each meeting, and select a local charity to receive the donated funds.

The selection of the Foundation as the recipient of funds specifically targets its Study Skills Academy, which has been in operation at district schools for the last seven years. The purpose of these academies is to assist struggling learners improve study skills and learn strategies to help them be successful through the use of specific academic content.

Each school structures its Study Skills Academy to meet the needs of its student population. Students are selected for the program with input from school staff based on teacher observation, grades and assessment data. Program coordinators, all certified teachers, then design the content and format of the program they will deliver.

This year’s MAP scores were used to measure academic growth of the participating students over the course of the school year. For those who participated in a Study Skills Academy, results showed that their growth in reading and math was greater than that of the average District 205 student. (Results for two schools were not included due to unavailability of information at time of analysis.)

The cost of this program, which is in existence at all elementary and middle schools, is close to $23,000 for stipends and supplies. This funding from 100+ Women Who Care will help to fund more than half of this program for the 2014-15 school year, which provides the Foundation with seed money for the 2015-16 program.

Their donation will directly impact students who do not qualify for interventions within the school setting, but would benefit from additional instruction for a variety of reasons. Many are struggling to stay at grade level, have difficulty with executive function, or have other learning issues that require additional time and attention to resolve.

Approximately 170 students per year participate, and over 1,200 students have been involved in the program since its 2007 inception.

Because the Study Skills Academy is an ongoing program, sources for funding are needed every year in order to ensure that this program continues. Commitments in the form of renewed annual sponsorships for this program would allow exploration of expanding this program to serve even more students.

If you or your organization is looking to sponsor a worthwhile program that positively affects student growth, please consider making a donation to the District 205 Foundation for Educational Excellence for its Study Skills Academy. The cost per school is approximately $2,200 each year.