The Schools Foundation invests in education for our children, for their teachers and for this community. We are a 501c-3 non-profit organization with one very important goal: to support Huntsville City Schools, Madison County Schools and Madison City Schools of Alabama.

Check out Madison County's most thorough events calendar at ourvalleyevents.com.

The Educators Institute was developed in recent months as a voluntary, non-profit, unincorporated association established by and composed of members of the Schools Foundation and other volunteers.  The Educators Institute is an organization within The Schools Foundation. 

The purposes of The Educators Institute are: to develop, plan, and implement educational initiatives that support the three public school systems in Madison County, Alabama; to implement and collaborate on strategies that maximize resources and opportunities of the school systems; and, to identify and develop partnerships with local, state, and national organizations in the support of public education and its programs.

“The board of directors of The Schools Foundation has worked very hard to accomplish many different functions for the three public school systems here in Madison County,” said D. Scott McLain, president of the organization.  “We needed to create a division with its sole purpose being to provide programs and assistance for educators. The Educators Institute and its volunteers will be focused on implementing the programs, events, and activities aimed at assisting teachers, principals, and schools, and of course, students,” McLain said.

“The Schools Foundation board will continue to concentrate its efforts on raising funds to support The Educators Institute programs, scholarships, teacher grants, and the many other programs that require funding throughout the year,” McLain said.  “This division of effort will allow the Foundation board to concentrate on education policy and fundraising, and let the many dedicated volunteers with classroom and education backgrounds and interest focus their efforts on development and management of programs for educators,”  McLain said.             

The first responsibilities of the Educators Institute include implementation of programs that The Schools Foundation board and volunteers have historically managed.  Those programs include:  Principally Speaking Network , where principals from the systems gather for discussion of best practices , Team America Rocket Challenge, where students design, build, and launch rockets, A+ College Ready, which encourages schools to offer and students to take advance – placement courses, Laying the Foundation, a preparatory program for A+ College Ready, and administering scholarships and grants to teachers in the three public school systems.  Volunteers interested in joining the work of The Educators Institute may contact The Schools Foundation at 256-503-3213 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

EDUCATORS INSTITUTE BOARD MEMBERS:

Avis Williams, Chair; Principal, Williams Middle School, Huntsville City Schools

Dr. Stephanie Ledbetter, Vice-Chair, Monrovia Elementary School, Madison County Schools

Susan Still, Community Volunteer

Amanda Wallace, Community Volunteer

Jeanne Welt, Madison City Schools

Ellen Thompson, Science Specialist, Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)

Cindi Koopman, The Boeing Company

A.J. Smith, McLain Commercial Real Estate

Louis Berry, Principal, Johnson High School, Huntsville City Schools

Sue Esslinger, Huntsville Hospital

Dr. Willie Corlew, Community Volunteer

Cathi Curtis, UA Huntsville

OUR PROGRAMS

The Schools Foundation works daily to positively impact students in local schools, focusing on services, resources, and opportunities to enhance teaching and learning.

• A+ College Ready - A national initiative to increase student achievement in math, science, and English; in partnership with The College Board, Dell, Exxon, and the Gates Foundation, Boeing and SAIC. This training and incentive program began September 2008 with applications from ten area high schools. This results-driven program is designed to increase student participation and success in advanced placement math, science, and English courses. The total investment in our schools over five years will total almost $4 million. Corporate partners include Boeing, Dynetics, SAIC, COLSA Corporation, RBC Bank, Compass Bank, First Commercial Bank, ERC Incorporated, AZ Technologies, WILL Technology, PublicFA, Belzon, Redstone Federal Credit Union, S3, AeroJet,  and Westar. In addition to A+ College Ready, The Schools Foundation is also providing Laying The Foundation (LTF) to support teachers as they prepare students in grades six through eleven to excel in Advanced Placement* and other college-level courses. LTF provides teacher training necessary to raise academic rigor in math, science, and English.

• Community Engagement: Huntsville/Madison County- "a purposeful effort, starting in either the school system or the community, to build a collaborative constituency for change and improvement in schools." Community engagement is an effort to bring the community together in a meaningful way, to be part of the decisions and processes that impact public schools.

• Meaningful community engagement in public schools reflects the will and needs of the community, and it requires initiative from the community and openness from school and district leadership. Community engagement, when implemented in other communities, has included:

  • Strategic planning sessions, town hall meetings or community conversations. Open dialogues foster trust and collaboration, shared goals, and strategies.
  • Collaboration between schools, service-providers, businesses, etc. Shared resources and collaboration enhance learning, strengthen connection, and produce mutually beneficial results for students, schools and the community.
  • Public information-sharing on school performance. Communities must be informed of and understand school performance data in order to understand and support student and schools goals and strategies.
  • Community participation in school board meetings. In most communities, school boards represent a school district's decision-making body and need input from the community to inform and support decisions.
  • Communication with elected officials and policymakers. Elected officials must connect with and seek input from the public. At the same time, the public must communicate with elected officials to voice their concerns and support.
  • Voting in school board, local and federal elections. An individual's informed vote is a powerful way to set the local and national agenda for education. (From the Annenberg Institute, 1996)

   

• TARC_ Team America Rocketry Competition - In Partnership with Pratt Whitney, students in middle and high school teams design and compete in rocket building in this national contest. Student teams come together on the day of launch to compete for awards and prizes. Winning team members have the opportunity to compete on the national level with all expenses paid. Area engineers and scientists provide mentoring, coaching, and organizational support to the program. Click here to see pictures of the 2008-09 Stone Middle School Team.

• Sign Up to Round Up – A partnership with Huntsville Utilities that provides a simple way for individuals to turn pocket change into support for education by rounding up monthly utility bills to the next highest dollar.Click here for more informtion or to Sign Up to Round Up.

• Federal Impact Aid- The Schools Foundation works with local superintendents, the media, and parents to ensure that Impact Aid information is widespread and leads to maximum financial payments back to the school systems. This annual initiative involves every school in Huntsville, Madison City, and Madison County, and results in hundreds of thousands of dollars for the school systems each year.

• Principally Speaking Network – A network of principals from Huntsville City, Madison City and Madison County that meets six times during each school year to enhance leadership skills and to network and learn from each other. Principally Speaking was developed and implemented in partnership with the Alabama Best Practices Center, The Schools Foundation Educators Institute, and the Chattanooga Education Foundation. Corporate partners include Wachovia, Toyota, Dynetics, and the North Alabama Educators Credit Union. Please click here for more information.

• Powerful Conversations Network (PNC) – An initiative developed by the Alabama Best Practices Center and the A+ Education Foundation to identify and maximize opportunities to make teachers and administrators the best they can be. The PCN helps educators identify strengths and weaknesses, identify proven strategies to improve instruction and network with others to share ideas and best practices.

• Excellence in Education Teacher Grants – A competitive grant process for teachers in all three systems that puts money directly into the classroom for special programs. Primarily with a math and science focus, proposals are funded to support of innovative teaching practices.

• Scholarships for Teachers: The Foundation awards scholarships to area classroom teachers in the following categories: science and math, early childhood education, national board certification, and administration. Please click here for 2009 scholarship information and application (due Oct 1, 2009).

HOW IS THIS WORK FUNDED?   Our work is funded through individual private individual donations, Sign Up To Round Up, corporate sponsorship, grants, and fundraising events. For a complete listing of our partners, and to make a contribution, go to www.theschoolsfoundation.org.        
WHERE DOES YOUR MONEY GO?   Since 2000, The Schools Foundation has directed over $1,500,000 to public school support.  

Teacher scholarships: $200,000.	Excellence in Education Classroom Grants -$100,000
Powerful Conversations Network- $40,000	Professional Development workshops- $200,000
Team America Rocket Challenge $25,000	North Alabama Kindergarten Conference $3000
Principally Speaking program- $10,000	Nationally recognized speakers for professional development : $40,000
Established Distance Learning Labs in all area high schools - $700,000	School Projects: a variety of  one time efforts designed to support specific projects identified by school as a priority: $4500
Sign Up To Round Up -$15,000 per calendar year.	A+ College Ready- $243,000 2009

In the Fall of 2000, there were two organizations with the same basic charter: the Huntsville City Schools Foundation and the Madison-Madison County Schools Foundation.

Both groups recognized that a united Schools Foundation could more effectively support the needs of public schools in Huntsville, Madison County and the City of Madison. A merger was simply a win-win proposition, for both the schools served and the community at large.

A united Schools Foundation identified new partners, eager to contribute toward the enhancement of public education at all area schools without singling out one system over another.

The Schools Foundation now has a community-wide vision - enhancement of public education in all public schools in Huntsville, Madison County and the City of Madison.

With your support and the support of the community, this vision can be realized. That is a win-win for everyone. Better educational opportunity not only benefits the students who receive it but also promotes economic development and improves the quality of life enjoyed by everyone in our community.

Quality public education is the key to our future.The Schools Foundation is committed to improving our schools and contributing to the prosperity of our community.

Help us make that mission a reality.