ARTICLE
Polk Education Foundation has been awarded an $80,000 grant from GiveWell Community Foundation in honor of Mabel Schaefer’s legacy. This investment will allow the Polk Education Foundation AmeriCorps Polk Reads program to pilot Building Blocks Literacy: an expansion beyond ts traditional Polk County Public Schools kindergarten through 3rd-grade focus that will begin serving 4th and 5th-grade students over the next two years. This pilot will help determine how well upper-elementary students understand foundational phonics skills and how targeted instruction can support their growth. AmeriCorps Polk Reads has served elementary students for more than two decades, providing one-on-one tutoring to help children build essential reading skills. With this new funding, the program will equip school sites with advanced phonics curriculum, phonics-based learning games, comprehensive tutor training aligned with the national Science of Reading framework, and incentives to recruit and retain tutors. The pilot will operate in 12 sites in the first academic year, building on the 10 sites served last year, with a goal of reaching 15 fully equipped sites by the end of the second year. Over the full pilot period, the initiative is expected to provide direct intervention to 1,000 students districtwide. This award is part of a larger philanthropic legacy left by Mabel Schaefer, a Polk County resident who passed away in 2023. Mrs. Schaefer was a former third-grade teacher who lived to be 100 years old and dedicated her life to education and service. Through GiveWell Community Foundation, more than $875,000 has been distributed so far to 20 nonprofits across Polk and Highlands counties that reflect the causes most important to her, including early childhood education. The Polk Education Foundation received the second-largest gift, reflecting a strong alignment between Mrs. Schaefer’s values and the Foundation’s mission to strengthen student success. Through this grant, the Foundation will reach more students with high-impact, phonics-based instruction. Mrs. Schaefer’s generous legacy will help build stronger readers, stronger schools, and a stronger Polk County community.
Polk Education Foundation has been awarded an $80,000 grant from GiveWell Community Foundation in honor of Mabel Schaefer’s legacy. This investment will allow the Polk Education Foundation AmeriCorps Polk Reads program to pilot Building Blocks Literacy: an expansion beyond ts traditional Polk County Public Schools kindergarten through 3rd-grade focus that will begin serving 4th and 5th-grade students over the next two years. This pilot will help determine how well upper-elementary students understand foundational phonics skills and how targeted instruction can support their growth.
AmeriCorps Polk Reads has served elementary students for more than two decades, providing one-on-one tutoring to help children build essential reading skills. With this new funding, the program will equip school sites with advanced phonics curriculum, phonics-based learning games, comprehensive tutor training aligned with the national Science of Reading framework, and incentives to recruit and retain tutors. The pilot will operate in 12 sites in the first academic year, building on the 10 sites served last year, with a goal of reaching 15 fully equipped sites by the end of the second year. Over the full pilot period, the initiative is expected to provide direct intervention to 1,000 students districtwide.
This award is part of a larger philanthropic legacy left by Mabel Schaefer, a Polk County resident who passed away in 2023. Mrs. Schaefer was a former third-grade teacher who lived to be 100 years old and dedicated her life to education and service. Through GiveWell Community Foundation, more than $875,000 has been distributed so far to 20 nonprofits across Polk and Highlands counties that reflect the causes most important to her, including early childhood education. The Polk Education Foundation received the second-largest gift, reflecting a strong alignment between Mrs. Schaefer’s values and the Foundation’s mission to strengthen student success.
Through this grant, the Foundation will reach more students with high-impact, phonics-based instruction. Mrs. Schaefer’s generous legacy will help build stronger readers, stronger schools, and a stronger Polk County community.