Year in Review: How did the FUTURES Foundation support Volusia County Schools in 2023?

The FUTURES Foundation for Volusia Schools was created in 1985 under Florida statute with a modest budget of $27,900 and some bold ideas.

Since then, the budget has grown to $1 million, and the community's attitude about the public school system has evolved from one of "'benign neglect' in 1985 to one of 'committed involvement,'" according to the organization.

The nonprofit fills a gap with private funding for initiatives that can't be funded with local or state dollars. Like programs aimed at improving morale and performance.

And 2023 has been a busy year.

Mini-grants for teachers

Each year teachers can apply for two $1,000 "mini-grants" grants to fuel innovative classroom projects.

David Finkle at Deland High School, for example, will use his grant to support collaboration between his creative writing class and Blue Lake Elementary students. The high schoolers will "adopt" a first-grader. Then, they will write, illustrate and publish a personalized book for their younger friends. At the end of the year, everyone involved will take part in a book presentation.

Jennifer Diallo at Deltona Lakes Elementary will use her mini-grant to teach fourth- and fifth-graders about the science of energy through various cooking labs. Specifically, students will learn how energy changes and moves while they make pancakes, grilled cheeses and cakes at the Energy Cafe Science Labs.

Latrease Carruthers at T-Dewitt Taylor Middle-High School will use her grant to support Get REDy Clothing Rentals. Some students will benefit by learning to manage the rental store, enhancing their communication, leadership and decision-making skills. Others will benefit by renting business casual attire from the store, helping them to feel confident and look presentable for interviews and business endeavors.

“The Mini-Grant Program is important (and) impactful because it provides an opportunity for teachers to implement creative projects in their classroom that typical state funding does not cover,” said Shimene Shepard, FUTURES' executive director.

The grants are funded by long-term donors: Duke Energy, Heart of Volusia, Hukill Family Foundation, and a local anonymous family foundation.

State grant funds fuel projects

This year, FUTURES received $124,665 from the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations, part of the Florida state budget to be used to fund 10 projects across the district that focus on specific areas. Each school must have private matching dollars.

Here are some of the projects the grant supports:

• The DaVinci Club at Citrus Grove Elementary School is an after-school program where students read books and produce writing, drama, music, visual art or a STEM-related project relating to the story they read.

• CTE Entrepreneurial Academies at Atlantic High School, Mainland High School, New Smyrna Beach High School, Seabreeze High School and T-Dewitt Taylor Middle-High School will use funds to purchase software to enhance the programs which give students the opportunity to collaborate on projects and compete at a local, regional and national level.

• Volusia LEADS! and Volusia MENTORS! are located in 24 Volusia County schools. Volusia LEADS! is a teacher leadership academy that encourages participants to lead and support colleagues within their schools and across the district. Volusia MENTORS! is part of the New Teacher Academy, and it strives to increase teacher retention, build lasting relationships and improve instruction. These programs will use funding to enhance peer-to-peer mentoring and provide professional development for teachers.

Scholarships provided

The FUTURES Foundation provides one-time four-year scholarships – valued at $16,705 – to most students in the Take Stock in Children (TSIC) program, a statewide initiative striving to break the cycle of poverty through education. Some students, however, receive a two-year scholarship.

Volusia students from low-income families can apply for this program as eighth graders and if they are selected they start the program in their freshman year of high school.

Students meet with volunteer adult mentors at least 15 times each school year and the FUTURES staff will monitor their grades, school attendance and discipline records.

Since students face barriers graduating high school, they will receive help staying on track and maintaining a 2.5 GPA. For college-bound kids, the program provides help with with submitting college applications, applying for student aid, writing resumes and visiting college campuses.

Currently, there are 97 students across 10 high schools participating in the program. This spring, 28 new students were selected to join. The total value of scholarships for students selected to join the program in 2022-2023 equals $368,488.

The project is funded through several individual donors who make annual contributions as well as numerous grants. Scholarship funds are matched by the Florida Prepaid Project STARS.

“This is a huge benefit for our donors as their donation is doubled,” Shepard said.

Bringing students back

Through the Tomorrow’s Leaders program, which was established in 1987, Volusia County high school juniors can participate in various seminars and visit numerous local businesses and organizations in the area.

“The goal of the program is for students to experience different aspects (and) career opportunities available in Volusia County and for students to come back to or stay in Volusia to work after graduation,” Shepard said.

Participants will learn more about leadership, team building and ethics, government and education, sports marketing, criminal justice and law, manufacturing, economic development, the arts, healthcare, and social services. There will be one seminar per month between November and March.

Students can begin applying during the first month of each school year.

The program is competitive. A committee of FUTURES board members and leaders in the community only select 40 students out of 100 applications.

Activities and services are mainly supported by in-kind donations. Program expenses primarily include snacks and meals for students during the seminars which are funded by a few small donations and unrestricted funds.

Teachers resource store, a 'dream project'

Shepard calls the teacher resources store a "dream project for FUTURES.”

Five teachers from five schools – Atlantic High School, Galaxy Middle School, Manatee Cove Elementary, Westside Elementary and Read-Pattillo Elementary – were selected to pilot the program. They will be able to order school supplies that get sent directly to their classroom. The foundation plans to have the online store fully up and running by Spring 2024.

FUTURES received $20,000 from Publix’s “Tools for Back to School” campaign in 2022 and $30,000 in 2023, both of which were matched by School District Education Foundation grants. The foundation also received $20,000 from Additional Financial in October, benefitting the project.

Since Publix has ended its “Tools for Back to School” campaign, FUTURES is looking for new future funding.

Mental health help

The FUTURES Foundation received a $123,000 grant from the Consortium of Florida Education Foundation in November to promote resilience in the district. This involves an expert who will visit 10 Volusia County high schools in the spring to discuss suicide prevention. Those schools will also receive funding to start after-school clubs that promote resilience.

The district will also conduct online parent forums in the spring which will cover topics relating to students’ mental health, responsibility and positive decision-making.

Teachers will receive a stipend to attend resiliency training during Volusia Learns summer 2024 professional development, and school counselors and district staff will be able to attend resiliency conferences in the spring and/or summer.

Schools celebrate top employees

The FUTURES Foundation partners with Volusia County Schools to host several recognition events throughout the year, with the most well-known event being their Teacher of the Year celebration.

At the start of each school year, every school in the district will nominate one teacher, and the top five teachers are announced in November.

On Oct. 18, all 70 nominees were recognized with a celebratory reception at Jackie Robinson Ball Park in Daytona Beach. On Jan. 21, over 900 will attend the Teacher of the Year banquet at the Hilton Oceanfront Resort in Daytona Beach where the winner, sponsored by AdventHealth, will speak.

Principals also get their due. An elementary school principal and a secondary school principal are selected and vetted by their peers. They are celebrated with a surprise classroom visit and announcement.

The Superintendent’s Outstanding Achievement Award goes to any member of the district's support staff. Nominees are role models for others. Similarly, awardees are honored with a surprise visit and announcement at the end of the school year.

And for first-year teachers, there's also an award. Each school in the district can nominate a first-year teacher who exemplifies strong content knowledge and other traits. Both an elementary and secondary winner are selected.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia County Schools receives support from FUTURES Foundation 2023