West Jefferson Hills School District relaunching Foundation for Education

A teacher at Jefferson Hills Intermediate School plans to purchase a chicken coop that will help enhance science lessons and become a business venture for students.

At Thomas Jefferson High School, a teacher plans to open a greenhouse on the balcony outside her classroom that will assist her biology students in learning, while another high school teacher plans to launch a world language library to help foster development.

Twelve teachers in the West Jefferson Hills School District received $500 to enhance education in and out of the classroom in the last month, thanks to the relaunch of the district’s Foundation for Education.

The Foundation for Education strives to “provide a supplemental funding source to further enhance and enrich student educational opportunities,” according to its mission. The foundation became dormant more than a decade ago and was reintroduced about a year ago.

Board members who come from parts of the community credit Superintendent Michael Ghilani for re-igniting the flame for the foundation.

When looking at districts that are successful on the educational front, nearly all had foundations that support and enhance classroom learning, board members said.

“You have buy-in and it is a partnership between the community and the school,” Ghilani said. “It’s providing an opportunity that they might not otherwise get.”

In early 2019, a request went out to the community seeking involvement.

A board was created that includes community members, district leaders and school board members.

Carolyn Bourgeois, a former school board member who served on the initial foundation’s board roughly 15 years ago, became the resurged organization’s first president.

“We want to be able to enhance the kids’ learning potential,” she said.

The foundation had funds from its past life.

Over the years, people purchased bricks for the TJ stadium and made contributions through United Way, she said.

With roughly $20,000 in the bank, foundation leaders wanted to see those funds put to good use while they work to relaunch the foundation.

“We thought we should really make an effort to give the money back,” said second vice President Dana Willmer.

Board members divided into two groups: One that will look for future funding sources and another that would determine how the current money should be distributed, said Gayle Manculich, treasurer.

“We thought it was really important not only for our students but for our community and teachers,” she said. “It really is important to give our teachers the opportunity to do something they maybe couldn’t do.”

Initially, they planned to give out two $500 mini-grants to teachers at each of the five schools.

However, they received 12 requests — with the majority coming from high school teachers.

While they had a rubric to determine how to select projects, they ultimately decided that all 12 teachers that applied deserved the funding.

Manculich said she was intrigued by the different types of requests that came in.

“Some were looking for equipment. Some were looking for experiences,” she said.

Grants went to teachers for everything from CPR mannequins to train lifeguards at the TJ pool to field trips and added funds for G.O.L.D. night at both Pleasant Hills Middle School and Thomas Jefferson High School.

The foundation currently is working on a plan to start more fundraising in the community to fund grants like this and even a scholarship, Bourgeois said.

Board members also will use this first round of mini-grants to determine where to contribute funds in the future.

“I’m hoping we have some great stories that come out of this and that we’re making a difference in students’ lives,” Manculich said.

Teachers were excited about their ideas, Ghilani said. They wanted to fund projects “that ultimately is going to benefit kids and learning and getting (them) excited — that’s what it’s all about,” he said. “That money now is impacting students on the ground floor, providing classroom opportunities they might not have had.”

More information about the West Jefferson Hills Foundation for Education can be found at www.wjhsd.net.