Hyde Park Education Foundation awards teacher grants; board honors retirees and student leaders

The Hyde Park Education Foundation presented teacher grants and the Board of Education recognized several students and retirees during the June 24 meeting.

Lori Woliver, introduced as president of the Education Foundation, said the foundation sets aside $5,000 each year to fund teacher grants and that award amounts are allocated by school population. "The Education Foundation has set aside $5,000 each year for key projects," Woliver said during the meeting.

Awarded projects named at the meeting included: - Colleen Coburn (Netherwood Elementary): a $445.36 grant to purchase more than 60 "Who Was?" biographical books to support student reports and communication skills. Coburn described the plan: "We're going to be reading a bunch of exciting Who Was? Books... the students will be giving reports, which will help them with their communication skills." - Erin Daniels and Karen Armstrong (Haviland Middle School): an award of roughly $1,100to $1,150 to support the Haviland garden project, covering stone delivery, soil upgrades, a new grow tower and irrigation items. - Natalie Ellis: a grant described as $452 for 42 multicultural titles to expand a classroom multicultural library and support a book vending machine that provides summer reading books to students.

Woliver said the foundation has provided recurring grants and scholarships over many years and estimated total giving of about $17,000 for teacher grants and roughly $6,000 for student scholarships (figures she described from memory).

Separately, the board presented a plaque to student board member Lizbeth for her service this year and announced a new civic engagement award to recognize a consistently involved student; Roman Pemberton received that civic engagement recognition.

Human resources chief Ryan Judge led a retirement recognition segment, listing more than a dozen retirees by name and asking the room to applaud their years of service. Judge also announced that Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Services Melissa Lawson had achieved tenure in her administrative role; the board paused for a reception to celebrate the retirees and tenure announcement.

Why it matters: Foundation grants provide targeted classroom resources and enrichment tied to the districts portrait of a graduate; the recognitions highlight leadership, service and staff transitions ahead of the new school year.

Next steps: Recipients will implement listed classroom projects during the summer and coming year; the board paused the meeting for a brief celebration before resuming business.