AEF aims for broader role in town with May 21 event

By Mary Carey
Staff Writer

Published on May 01, 2009

Best known, perhaps, for its annual Trivia Bee fundraiser and the mini-grants it has given to teachers through the years, the Amherst Education Foundation aims to play a larger role in the future of schools.

In May, the foundation will have an office for the first time, in a space above Chez Albert, on South Pleasant Street, donated by a business. A May 21 catered reception is planned at wunderarts on Main Street to display some of the projects the AEF has helped fund. It promises to be "a yummy event," said AEF volunteer Tracy Hightower.

In recent weeks, the foundation donated $5,500 to the high school, $3,500 to the middle school and a total of $10,000 to the Pelham and four Amherst elementary schools,

Hightower characterized the recent donations as a bit of a departure for the AEF, founded in 1994 and previously known as the Amherst Education Alliance.

It used to be that teachers would apply for small grants for independent projects. Going forward, the foundation wants to put more emphasis on collaboration, she said.

"It looked like we were funding certain programs and making a difference for small pockets of kids. Now we want to do district-wide replicable projects."

The money the AEF gave to the schools this year goes directly to principals to help buy snacks for homework clubs and supplies for projects, among other items.

At Crocker Farm Elementary School, for instance, the money will help keep an afternoon enrichment club on Wednesdays going. About a third of Crocker Farm students participated in chess, knitting, science experimentation, Spanish and cooking clubs in this year's pilot program. "The kids were so excited every Wednesday," Morris said. "I think the more AEF is connected to the daily life of students, the more effective their mission and our mission will be together."

Last year, the foundation hired a consultant to re-evaluate its goals and consider how it can have a bigger impact on the schools. There are plans to roll out its new profile in June.

"We want to look at emerging needs, but we don't want to be a Band-Aid for the community. I don't think that's what foundations do," Hightower said, hinting at what it could entail. "Our main focus is on innovative teaching."

Mary Carey can be reached at mary.carey@att.net.

This article has been updated since its original posting, to replace the correct date of the AEF event.