Special Education Foundation details grants, programs and new mobility pilot for students with disabilities

Tim Eady, executive director of the Special Education Foundation, on the evening the board met presented a year-in-review and a plan for new initiatives, saying the foundation supports students served by the Special School District (SSD) of St. Louis County through grants, adaptive-equipment purchases, scholarships and enrichment programs.

Eady said the foundation assisted "more than 8,000 students across Saint Louis County" through programs in 2024 and described several specific efforts benefiting students who receive SSD services. He said the foundation awarded classroom-innovation grants to dozens of educators and that grant awards ranged from about $200 to $1,500 per grant. "We provided 89 such grants to educators in 2024," Eady said, later noting a related figure of about $65,000 in grant dollars and separately saying the foundation has "invested at least $75,000 in grants directly to SSD schools and educators."

The foundation also funds adaptive-equipment and audiology work, Eady said. He said the adaptive-equipment program — renewed this year with support from the Chilis Foundation — helps students who age out of SSD keep access to devices such as iPads and other communication tools that otherwise would be provided only while the students are in school. Eady told the board the foundation helped "more than 70 students with audiology support in 2024," including hearing-aid repairs and alternate alarms for students with hearing loss.

Eady described program pilots the foundation is expanding. An "autism independence project," run in partnership with ISocial, used evening Zoom cohorts to teach social skills; Eady said the foundation provided $15,000 to pilot the program, serving 13 students since last summer. He said the foundation also funds arts programming under "SEF Presents," bringing music, dance and theater into SSD-operated schools and partner districts, and cited upcoming performances scheduled with partners including the St. Louis Symphony and Jazz St. Louis.

Among new initiatives, Eady outlined a mobility project that the foundation plans to pilot by placing two power wheelchairs in SSD schools so students with physical disabilities can learn to operate them. "With that experience, families can turn to insurance companies for assistance in purchasing a device for the students, since one of the qualifying prerequisites is that the student must know how to operate the device," Eady said.

Eady also summarized the foundation's fundraising mix. He said roughly 45% of revenue comes from corporate donors, a bit more than a quarter from individuals, with foundations and board giving making up other portions of funding. Major annual events named as revenue sources include a June Starfish Awards event and an October charity golf tournament.

Board members and guests in the room included SEF board chair Dr. Julia Burke, Shannon Benedek (program and communications manager), and board members Alan Holmquist and Sargel Nardela, all of whom Eady introduced before his presentation.

Eady closed by inviting questions and by asking the board to help spread awareness of foundation programs to under-resourced partner districts that may not apply for grants on their own. "One of the things that we find is a lot of times these folks at districts, and particularly under resourced districts, sometimes just don't have the time to talk to us to apply for funding," he said.

The board did not take formal action on foundation items during the meeting; Eady said the foundation is continuing outreach and program expansion.