Education Foundation News

 

Teacher of the Year Victor Fernandez shares a moment with Superintendent Lori White, left, and School Board Chairwoman Caroline Zucker.

Teachers, administrators, school board members, sponsors and guests gathered at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota to celebrate the naming of the district winner from among three finalists and to honor candidates from schools throughout the county. A partnership between the Education Foundation of Sarasota County and the Sarasota County School District produces the annual event.

“As an immigrant to this country who speaks English as my second language, I am humbled by this honor,” Fernandez, a native of Cuba, told the audience after being named the district’s Teacher of the Year. “The scope of our jobs as educators lies far beyond scores and statistics. There has never been more of a need for positive leaders to rise than now, and teachers have a direct impact on the future of America.”

Fernandez will represent the school district at the Florida Department of Education–Macy's Teacher of the Year gala and serve as the community spokesperson for the teaching profession throughout the 2012-2013 academic year. He was selected from three finalists, who also included Jessica Gardner of Gocio Elementary School and Danielle Fisher Tanaka of Venice High School.

Fernandez began teaching at Booker Middle in August 2010, after teaching middle and high school in Tallahassee for three years. He also conducts the Sarasota Youth Orchestra and has conducted the Tallahassee Symphony Youth Orchestra and the Wiregrass Youth Symphony Orchestra in Dothan, Ala.

“Victor inspires students with a sense of purpose as he helps them build the skills, attitudes, habits and the behaviors they need to be successful,” Booker Middle School Interim Principal LaShawn Houston said. “He takes students on a journey that allows them to experience music on a deeper level, teaching music by using reading, writing and math in the classroom.”

Fernandez said, “I approach teaching and music as I approach life. As I explain to my students, ‘the more you put into anything, the more you get out of it.’ It works in music and it works in life. As I think of my students becoming adults and creating the rest of their lives, I aim to teach ‘beyond the notes,’ and that truly shapes the way I teach music.”

In addition to his work with the Booker Middle School Orchestra and the Sarasota Youth Orchestra, Fernandez also volunteers his time to teach musical skills to students at Gocio Elementary. He earned a master’s degree in Music Education and bachelor’s degrees in Music Education and Music Performance from Florida State University.

In school districts across the nation, the Teacher of the Year program focuses attention on the contributions of teachers and honors those who have the gift of inspiring a love of learning in their students. Time after time, by most every test and measure — reading, writing, math, and college readiness — Sarasota County students place at the top in the state of Florida. The district is rated “A” by the Florida Department of Education, which recently ranked Sarasota County the fourth highest of the state’s 67 school districts in student performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). These achievements reflect the quality of the teachers in the county’s public schools.

The Sarasota County Teacher of the Year program is made possible through the funding and support of community partners. This year’s Presenting Sponsor is Verizon. Premier Sponsors include Nova Southeastern University, Publix Super Markets Charities and Sunset Chevrolet Buick GMC. Gold Sponsors are the Notre Dame Club of Greater Sarasota, Prudential Retirement, Sarasota County School-Based Administrators Association (SBA) and VALIC. Sarasota County School District Administrators (SDA) and Herff Jones-Steve Kline are Silver Sponsors.

Each of the three finalists receives $500 cash awards from the Education Foundation of Sarasota County and the Sarasota County Classified/Teachers Association ($500 to the overall winner; $250 each to the other two finalists) as well as scholarships from Nova Southeastern University. Each of the 42 Teachers of the Year from individual schools receives $150 in Professional Development vouchers to continue learning about best practices in education.

The overall Teacher of the Year will attend the Excellence in Teaching Conference at the University of Notre Dame, all expenses paid, courtesy of the Notre Dame Club of Greater Sarasota. The individual selected as the district’s top Teacher of the Year also receives a 2012 Chevy Cruze to use for the year from Sunset Chevrolet Buick GMC. All 42 individual schools’ Teachers of the Year receive a variety of gifts, including a quality professional portrait by Prestige Portraits by Lifetouch.

Sarasota, Florida – January 19, 2012 – Original works of art by twenty-five students from eight Sarasota County high schools captured top honors Wednesday night as their teachers, families, fans and other competitors cheered. The Education Foundation of Sarasota County kicked off festivities for the 17th Evening of Excellence with its U.S. Trust Reception, announcing Best of Show and Best of School winners for the annual competition.

Rachael Tuffland, a Phoenix Academy freshman, won the Best of Show title for her electronic media piece, Chicken Comb-Over. Seven other Best of School winners include Julianna Burns from Sarasota High, Cara Collins from Venice High; Margaret McCampbell from Suncoast Polytechnical, Sarah Aubrey Neher from Pine View, Tai Ngo from North Port High, Haley Paulsen from Riverview High, and Tori Tatge from Booker High.

 2012 EVEX STUDENT AWARD WINNERS

A panel of six art and design professionals selected the top twenty-five out of more than 330 entries submitted by students from every public high school in Sarasota County. All entries were on display for public viewing at the Ringling College of Art and Design, the scene of last night’s announcements.

Susan Scott and Mike Bryant, the Education Foundation’s new executive director and its board chairman, welcomed the audience of over 220 to the reception. School superintendent Lori White congratulated participants and praised families for supporting their students’ talents and aspirations. Ringling College president Dr. Larry Thompson presented the Heart of Art Awards, including free supplies and tuition for summer art classes, to an exemplary young artist from each high school.

Chris Cremer and Meg Mahoney, 2012 Evening of Excellence co-chairwomen, announced the winners. The student artists are donating all twenty-five of their winning pieces – paintings, photographs, mixed media, sculpture and more – to the Education Foundation. Both the students and their art will be photographed by Gene Pollux of Pollux Photography and Digital Imaging. Then each piece will be professionally framed by local galleries that are donating their materials and services.

Finally, the students will be honored at the Evening of Excellence gala dinner and auction on February 24, when they will see their work auctioned off to the highest bidder. Last year’s event grossed over $250,250 in cash and in-kind support, including a live auction total of $29,400. Proceeds benefit the 41,000 students enrolled in Sarasota County’s public schools through the work of the Education Foundation.

The top twenty-five students receive monetary prizes starting at $500 as well as other gifts and recognition for their talent and generosity. Another five students receive Honorable Mention awards of $100 each. An estimated $40,000 in prizes, scholarships and art department grants will be presented during this year’s Evening of Excellence activities.

The Juried Art Show panel of judges includes Don Brandes and James H. Dean of Ringling College of Art and Design, artists Robert Farrell and Lisa Swift, photographer Gene Pollux, and Matthew McLendon, Ph.D. of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.

Evening of Excellence is both an innovative art program and a well-established Sarasota social event. This year's theme is See the Ordinary. Create the Extraordinary., taking inspiration from the student whose award-winning work from last year’s event was adapted for the gala invitation. Sponsorships are available starting at $1,000. Individual tickets are $200, $250 for patrons. The date for this year’s dinner and auction is Friday, February 24. Festivities begin at 6:00 p.m. at Michael’s On East. To request an invitation or for more information, call the Education Foundation at 941-927-0965 or see the web site at www.EdFoundation.net.

Masterpiece Sponsors are Al Weis & Bob Harris of Advanced Network & Services and the Herald-Tribune Media Group. Maestro Sponsors are Bank of America and Mills Gilbane.

Connoisseur Sponsors include Fawley|Bryant, Jeff and Cindy Kaiser, Jon F. Swift, Inc. and The Swift Family Foundation, McIntyre Elwell & Strammer General Contractors, Inc., Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP, Tandem Construction, Lakewood Ranch and Willis A. Smith Construction, Inc.

Virtuoso Sponsors are Engineering Matrix, Inc., Norton Hammersley Lopez & Skokos, P.A., Ringling College of Art and Design and SchenkelShultz Architecture. Artiste Sponsors include Advanced Masonry Systems, Bruce and Lisa Beckstein / Gene and Anne Beckstein, Florida Power & Light, Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Helios Education Foundation, Matthews Eastmore, George W. McGonagill, SCENE Magazine and WilsonMiller – Stantec.

U.S. Trust sponsored the Juried Art Show Reception at Ringling College’s Roskamp Exhibition Hall. IDS – Interior Design Society of Sarasota is the invitation sponsor.

Sarasota, FL – January 5, 2012 – The Education Foundation of Sarasota County announced the appointment of Susan Scott as the nonprofit’s new executive director. The long-time community leader was selected at a special meeting of the organization’s board of directors this week and starts January 9.

Board chairman Mike Bryant headed the search, following Cindy Kaiser’s departure to deal with family health issues at the end of October. "As we approach our 25th anniversary, we are all enthusiastic about the selection of Susan Scott as executive director,” he said. “The board is committed to the vision of expanding the Education Foundation's presence and growing the impact our programs and financial support have on the school children of Sarasota County.”

Citing Scott’s record of success in government, education and business, Bryant said she was the unanimous choice of the group’s search committee, which received over sixty applications for the position. “With Susan's selection, the Education Foundation takes the next big step in becoming the source for this community's generosity and philanthropy when it comes to improving our public schools and keeping this district one of the best in Florida. Susan's accomplished history in this community and her exceptional skills, experience and community knowledge will provide us the strong leadership needed to reach our growing and expanded vision.”

Scott was Sarasota County government’s deputy administrator from 2003 to 2010, overseeing financial planning, human resources and technology, then communications director until July 2011. At the county, she developed and implemented a series of initiatives that received national attention, including a collaboration of nonprofits that allocated millions of dollars in federal funding for housing.

From 1998 to 2003, Scott served as vice president of institutional advancement for Ringling College of Art and Design. There she led communications and marketing, development, admissions, financial aid and career services. She established a development operation that raised millions of dollars for the school, including a major Kresge Foundation challenge campaign.

From 1988 to 1998 Scott was market area president for First Union Bank in Manatee and Sarasota Counties, relocating to the area after seventeen years as a bank manager in Louisville, Kentucky. Scott is a graduate of the University of Louisville, with additional certification from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia.

"I am truly honored and grateful to have been selected as executive director,” she said. “I believe that great schools are essential to a community’s strength and to a better future for all children and that the Education Foundation plays a vital role in supporting the great schools we have in Sarasota County. I am excited about leading the foundation as it takes the next big step to grow so that our community and children continue to realize a better future."

Dr. Carlotta Cooley, a well-known area educator and past member of the foundation’s board of directors, has served as interim executive director since October 31.

SARASOTA, FL – December 8, 2011 – A standing-room only crowd of 300 teachers, sponsors, volunteers, and school district leaders celebrated the 22nd anniversary of the Classroom Grant Awards last night at the Chelsea Center. Dr. Carlotta Cooley, interim executive director of the Education Foundation of Sarasota County, announced grants totaling $170,033 for 200 classroom projects developed by teachers from 49 public schools in the district.

Keynote speaker for the event was Michelle Robinson, Southeast Region President for Verizon and a major sponsor of Education Foundation initiatives. Directing her comments to the educators, Robinson told them that as a mother of two young sons, taxpayer and business leader, “I appreciate what you do, every day, to inspire and transform the lives of our children.” Despite economic and political challenges, she said, “your dedication and commitment must not waver – too much is at stake.”
Argosy University sponsored the evening’s reception with Verizon and presented the fourth annual Argosy Principal’s Award. The award honors the principal whose school submitted the most proposals by faculty size. Dr. Sandra Wise, Argosy’s Sarasota campus president, presented a check for $500 to principal Sally Mancheno of North Port’s Lamarque Elementary.

Jim Henry, Rotary Club of Sarasota president, joined Cooley onstage to close the ceremonies with a final drawing. Henry drew the name of Cranberry Elementary’s Kathleen Butigian, who received the Rotary Club of Sarasota Teacher’s Award, a no-strings cash gift of $500.

Mike Bryant, chairman of the Education Foundation’s board, traced the history of the group’s classroom grant programs. In 1990, founders awarded the first grants totaling $6,000 to thirteen teachers. Since then, the Education Foundation has awarded $2.5 million for 4,163 projects designed by teachers. Many of the most creative and effective projects are replicated in by other teachers over the years, expanding the impact of each grant.
All Sarasota County K-12 public school teachers are eligible to apply for awards of up to $500 through the Edge of Excellence Classroom Grants program. These funds go beyond what school budgets can provide, giving teachers the tools, materials and supplies they need to develop innovative enrichment projects and try new teaching techniques. The Education Foundation raises the funds, sponsors proposal-writing workshops for teachers, and organizes community grant-reading sessions where 200 volunteers evaluate the teachers’ requests each fall. Grant reading sessions gave citizens a glimpse into area classrooms and a chance to learn more about current trends and challenges in teaching. Northern Trust hosted two days of grant readings at its Venice and Sarasota branches in October.

This year, all teachers were also eligible to apply for larger awards through the Education Foundation’s new Exploration Grants program. Area arts, history and science organizations are developing educational experiences tied closely to state academic standards and curriculum plans. These “explorations” are posted on a new website, EdExploreSRQ.com, which was launched this summer by Sarasota County Schools and The Patterson Foundation’s Cultural Connections with Students Initiative. Teachers can use the website to find exciting experiences – educational field trips, performances, classroom visits with artists and scientists, video-conferencing – that meet state instructional standards and help students learn the content they are expected to master each year. Exploration Grants will help teachers make these experiences possible for their students. Grants of up to $1,500 and expanded grants of up to $5,000 are awarded to teachers who develop the most compelling proposals for student learning based on EdExploreSRQ.com experiences.

To inspire further generosity, The Patterson Foundation (TPF) is matching new or increased philanthropic gifts for Exploration Grants from individuals, families, companies, clubs and associations over the next three years, up to a total of $500,000. According to TPF’s initiative manager, Dr. Laurey Stryker, half of the match will fund current grants. The other half will seed an endowment to sustain these grants in the future.

Funding for Edge and Exploration Grants is provided by individual donors, civic groups, corporations, and foundation sponsors. A record $269,000 has been raised to date for this year and future year grants, program production expenses, and endowment.
Leading Edge of Excellence sponsors include Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Verizon, Wells Fargo, and The Community Foundation of Sarasota County through the Ella A. Wiselogel Fund for Teachers.
Sponsors of multiple Edge of Excellence Grants are Amscot’s "Just A Dollar" Campaign, Argosy University / Sarasota Campus, AT&T Florida, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Community Fund, Abe & Catherine Kaplan Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City, Jerry and Nancy Kaplan, Koski Family Foundation, The Community Foundation of Sarasota County from the Betsy Mitchell Family Fund, Alix and Mark Morin in Honor of George Morin, Hope Morin, Ruth Larose and the Siesta Key Walking Ladies, Sarasota Classified / Teachers Association, Sarasota Rotary Foundation, Sun Hydraulics, Odile Robertson Charitable Fund of Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Howe Memorial Grant, The Community Foundation of Sarasota County from the Kennedy Family Donor Advised Fund, David A. and Jean A. Mitchell, Philip and Susan Morris, William and Carol Muth in Memory of Mrs. Margaret Clark and Mrs. Eileen Muth, Betty and Stanley Pelletz, John and Ann Ross – The Tracy Ross Memorial Trust, and Constance V. White-Davis.

Additional Edge grant sponsors are Laura Breeze and Van Huff, Michael and Evelyn Bryant, Amy Donner and David Mann, Cheryl and Scott Gordon, Jelks Family Foundation, Jeff and Cindy Kaiser, the Kingsley Family, Eloise Malinsky, Helen C. Martin, Alice Rau, Marcia McLaughlin - Re/Max Alliance Group, Smally Family Land Corp., Dr. Carolyn Trohoski and Norbert Trohoski, and Caroline and Michael Zucker.

Top Exploration Grant program contributors include Bank of America Client Foundation’s Virginia White Clark Fund, Verizon, Koski Family Foundation, Jon F. Swift, Inc., and Wells Fargo. Others are Amscot "Just A Dollar" Campaign, Bank of America Charitable Foundation, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Community Fund, Julius Brandenburg Legacy Fund, Laura Breeze and Van Huff, Michael and Evelyn Bryant, Coldwell Banker CARES, Richard and Carlotta Cooley, Cheryl and Scott Gordon, Philip and Susannah Hammersley, Ann and Art Hardy, Howe Memorial Grant, Mrs. B.J. Hunkele, Jeff and Cindy Kaiser, Abe & Catherine Kaplan Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City, Jerry and Nancy Kaplan, Dr. Tanice Knopp and Ken Marsh, Dr. Brian and Cathy Letts, Lindsay Letts and Evan Jones, Michael and Nancy Longworth, Eloise Malinsky, Julie Morris, Philip and Susan Morris, William and Carol Muth, Don and Kathy Schersten, Smally Family Land Corp., Dee and Charlie Stottlemyer, Laurey and Charlie Stryker, Tandem Construction in Honor of Dr. Michael Ruare, and Cliff and Pam Truitt.

The Education Foundation’s volunteer Grants Committee members are Libby Early, Helen C. Martin, Debra Reese, and Ann Hardy. Lindsay Letts is Program Director.