SPEF - Partners In Education - Programs at SPEF

Stamford Public Education Foundation's mission is to support students and teachers in Stamford's Public Schools through community collaboration and philanthropy. We work diligently to invest in programs that bring the Public Schools together with volunteers from the Stamford community.

Some of SPEF's new program initiatives include:

Partners in Education (PIE) Classroom Libraries Program leverages donations from small and medium-sized local business to provide complete sets of leveled books from kindergarten to second grad classrooms in Stamford's elementary schools. In support of the district's effort to standardize the literacy curriculum, the PIE Classroom Library Program seeks to ensure that students have access to the 500 unique titles per year they need to become avid life-long readers. A donation of $2,000 will purchase a classroom library, comprised of 5 - 7 bins with 35 unduplicated books at varying reading levels in each bin. A customized bookplate in each book serves as a lasting reminder of the generosity of the sponsor.
A pilot Middle School Mentoring Program connecting students in seventh grade with UConn Stamford and Norwalk Community College mentors to help the middle school students transition successfully into high school, understand the need to prepare to take rigorous courses, and to reduce the chance of their dropping out of high school before graduation.
Coordinating and sponsoring a school-to-career fair to SPS middle school students to help them make the connection between academic class selection in high school and their future career or college choices.

SPEF's exisiting programs incluce:

Connecting 100 UBS employee volunteers with 79 2nd and 3rd grade students at Stark Elementary School every week through the Power Lunch Program.
Co-sponsoring the Junior FIRST LEGO League competition for 21 elementary school teams in Stamford.
Bringing 15 Springdale Elementary School students to Pitney Bowes Headquarters for one-on-one tutoring by 15 employee volunteers every week. This program is celebrating its 20th year of operation.
Supporting literacy initiatives for all students attending Springdale Elementary School.
Supporting the professional development of 450 teachers from 6 states at the GE Foudnation Summer Conference for the GE Foundation.
Leveraging corporate donations to equip classrooms with smart boards, LCD projectors and white boards at Dolan Middle School. Future endeavors include providing training to all middle school media specialists so they are able to show teachers how to make the best use of the new technology.