Chadwick Schools’ new classroom/storm shelter building will be the CFO’s second completed Mission-Related Investment project when the facility opens this fall.
With more than 4,000 square feet, the building will house two classrooms and a large entryway into the gym that can accommodate not only the entire student body, but also serve as a community storm shelter if an event is taking place when severe weather hits.
The project came about after Chadwick received some federal grant money, but then lost a no-tax increase bond election in November 2008 by a couple of votes. CFO President Brian Fogle saw news reports about the election and thought the project would be a good candidate for the new MRI program, in which a portion of CFO assets are invested directly into communities through low-interest loans that create a “double-bottom line.”
The Chadwick news release explains more about the project.
Posted August 16th, 2010 in Mission Related Investments, News | No Comments »
Bolivar Superintendent Dr. Steve Morgan and Intermediate School Principal Laura Boyd accept a ceremonial check for $10,000 from CFO Executive Vice President Julie Leeth.
Bolivar R-1 Schools received $10,000 in matching funds after raising $20,000 to create a Care to Learn Endowment Fund as part of the second phase of the Harry Cooper Supply Company Campaign for the Ozarks Challenge.
Intermediate School Principal Laura Boyd said the Care to Learn program, which addresses health, hunger and hygiene needs for schoolchildren, has gotten off to a successful start in its first year of serving about 100 third- through fifth-grade students.
One of the main components of the Bolivar program is a backpack snack program, which provides healthy foods for 50 kids who have the backpacks filled 10 times a year.
Bolivar, one of 25 members of the Rural Schools Partnership participating in the Cooper Phase II Challenge, is the third school district to receive the $10,000 matching grant. This challenge, which concludes at the end of the year, is intended to help RSP partners build educational endowment funds.
Posted August 12th, 2010 in Uncategorized | No Comments »
The Rural Schools Partnership and Ozarks Teacher Corps are featured in the next issue of Education Week, a national publication focusing on K-12 practices and policies that reaches an audience of some 260,000 involved in the education field across America.
The online version of the story “Efforts to Build Rural Leadership Gain Steam” was published today on edweek.org.
The story features Albert Bryant, a Drury University senior from Everton, and Jessica Joiner, of Lebanon who is also a senior at Drury, two of the 18 students in the inaugural class of the Ozarks Teacher Corps.
The story looks at several programs across the country that are trying to sustain rural schools facing challenges in recruiting staff and developing resources to provide quality education.
It also notes that John White, the U.S. Department of Education Deputy Assistant Secretary for Rural Outreach, visited the Ozarks this year to see the new Ozarks Teacher Corps program unfold as a potential model for other areas. White attended the Rural Schools Partnership’s first Rural Education Rendezvous in May at the Thomasville Community Center.
Posted August 5th, 2010 in Uncategorized | No Comments »
