Programs

The Education Fund's first program awarded small grants to support teachers' innovative classroom projects. Two decades and more than 1,000 projects later, our programs make a difference in the lives of 350,000 students and 22,000 teachers throughout Miami-Dade Public Schools each year.

In addition to awards of more than $2 million in grants to teachers, The Ed Fund's initiatives have contributed $5.6 million in free classroom supplies, 10,000 computers to parents and students, 1.2 million trilingual Parent Resource Guides, thousands of hours in educator training and numerous other efforts that target critical needs during this critical time.

The objective of each Education Fund program is to support and promote quality public education for every child in Miami-Dade Public Schools by providing teachers and students with resources they need to succeed in the classroom.

Our range of programs include:

The Ocean Bank Center for Educational Materials (OBCEM) collects surplus inventory and supplies from the business community and makes them available for free to public school teachers throughout Miami-Dade County. The Ocean Bank Center has hosted more than 15,500 teachers and made more than $5.6 million in donated goods available.

IMPACT II helps teachers make the most of innovative and creative ideas by awarding them grants to package and disseminate their ideas, providing teachers with a "best practices" catalog, curriculum packets, the annual Idea EXPO teacher conference and grants to adapt and tailor the featured projects to their own classrooms.

The Plant A Thousand Gardens Collaborative Nutrition Initiative (CNI) engages students at M-DCPS elementary and middle schools to plant and maintain vegetable and herb gardens on school grounds while using the experience to promote healthy eating habits and nutritional knowledge that will last a lifetime. Hoping to implement a district-wide curriculum, school leaders directing the interdisciplinary project, now in 25 schools, perform action research, documenting the gardens' impact on student learning.

Citi Postsecondary Success Project ( CPSP) is a five-year collaborative effort with Miami-Dade County Public Schools. community organizations and local postsecondary institutions to increase the number of low-income high-school students who enroll and succeed in postsecondary education. The program focuses on academic achievement and preparation, financial planning, parental involvement and development of school- and community-wide awareness of college readiness.

Creating Transition Coaches to Build Change ( CTC) is a pilot program collaborating with the district's College Assistance Program (CAP) to create a structure that expands the roles of teachers and guidance counselors so they become mentors/coaches who can help their students appreciate the benefits of attending college and develop the practical skills needed to apply. The program targets M-DCPS career academy high schools that serve a high percentage of low-income, minority students.

The Education Fund's Teach-A-Thon increases public awareness of the critical role that teachers play in student achievement. Business professionals from across the county learn about the challenges of teaching, gather support pledges from colleagues and then experience firsthand the difficulties and rewards of a day in the classroom. Participants gain a deeper understanding for teachers, teaching quality and its impact on student success.

Teacher Mini-Grants award small cash grants to teachers who want to try something new in the classroom to stimulate learning. More than 1,000 outstanding projects have been developed with these grants.

Art of Found Objects Exhibition and Charity Art Auction provide much-needed resources, recognition and financial support for fine arts education in M-DCPS. Students create works made from "found" objects at the Ocean Bank Center. These original works are later auctioned at an annual gala, with proceeds benefitting the district's visual arts programs.

Teachers Network Leadership Institute (TNLI) enables a teacher's voice to be a factor in creating educational policy through school-based action research projects. The Education Fund participates in TNLI as one of 14 affiliates throughout the country that collaborate on studies and share their results and recommendations with policy-makers.

FamilyTech opens the world of computer technology to more than 10,000+ low-income students and their families by placing refurbished computers in their homes, and training parents to use the computers and supervise their children's work. In the classroom, the students' teachers learn to incorporate technology in the curriculum.

Success Fund- The Citi Success Fund for 20 years served the needs of at-risk students in our community by motivating them to stay in school through teacher-directed project-based learning. We reached 168,000 at-risk students with more than 1,000 stimulating learning experiences in elementary, middle, senior high and alternative/specialized schools throughout the county.

Team Mentor Grants are designed to provide an incentive for collaboration between new and veteran teachers. This collaboration is centered on classroom-based, student-learning projects that provide common ground for veteran teachers and new teachers to work together.

Superintendent's Urban Principal Initiative (SUPI) was one of the nation's most comprehensive leadership development programs for secondary school administrators. Through online assessment tools, collaboration with national experts in education, Action Research training, coaching by retired administrators, participation in the Harvard Institute, a nine-week internship and additional instruction, SUPI prepared school leaders to meet the challenges of the district's highest-need students.

Town Hall Meetings/Community Dialogues are part of an ongoing effort by The Education Fund to facilitate community discussions of public education issues. The first Town Hall Meeting, "Crisis in the Classroom," focused on teacher recruitment and retention.