Mattoon Foundation for Academic Excellence announces Family and Community Engagement Grants of $24,000

Pictured Vincent Walk. Photo submitted by SEICF.

For Release

(MATTOON, Illinois – 2022-2023) Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation is pleased to announce that it has awarded four family engagement mini-grants through the Mattoon Foundation for Academic Excellence Fund.

The Industrial Technology (Woodshop) class taught by Jacob Fryman at the Mattoon Middle School received $1,000 for decorative lanterns and/or welcome signs for students’ houses/apartments. “The students will come up with design templates and give the choice to the family which custom design they would like. The next step is to have the students in Industrial Tech and Mass Media class cut out the designs for each project. The goal of this project would be to provide an interactive activity the students could do at home with their loved ones/guardians provided by the students at Mattoon Middle School and made by the students at Mattoon Middle School,” stated Jacob.

Rachael McCoy of Williams Elementary School received $1,000 for her classroom to perform the Clifton Strengths assessment and book study for families. Rachael explains, “Through this grant and book study families will be able to see their strengths in action, especially in their interactions with their own students. In addition, families will possess a greater understanding of how to engage students in a way that moves those talents to strengths.”

De Dalby, Counselor at MHS, received $1,000 for the College and Career Readiness Night. De explains, “MHS continues to work with our community partners on bringing in opportunities for our students to be life ready. By bringing in the different businesses and off-campus opportunities students and their families have a front row seat to see that there are countless avenues to take besides college.”

Pictured L -R: De Dalby MHS, and Lori Westra (RES), Kristen Bertrand (Program Officer, SICF) and Kris Maleske, Mattoon CUSD #2 Community Services Director. Photo submitted by SIECF

Ashley Wishard of Mattoon Middle School received $1,000 for the Books & Game Night hosted at MMS. “Students will get to show responsibility, ownership, and respect when serving concessions to those families that come in for Books and Game Night. Students will show ownership by showing their families where to go to complete a scavenger hunt about books, there will be board games, and card games” stated Ashley.

The Community Foundation also awarded two community engagement grants through the Mattoon Foundation for Academic Excellence Fund.

Lori Westra, Riddle Elementary School nurse received $10,000 for the Healthy Families Collaboration. Lori states, “We (are) starting a pilot program at Riddle Elementary where the school nurse and school counselor will take the lead in identifying families to join us on a journey of discovery and growth which will lead to healthier families, healthier schools, and ultimately healthier community.

We will meet monthly with all 10 families and pair them with a mentor who will reach out to them weekly to follow-up on topics discussed at our monthly meeting and help the families to facilitate their own growth and learning.”

Pictured L-R: Jordan Coleman, RES Social Worker. Casey Harley, RES Counselor. Blair Dosch, ROE AIM program. Lori Westra, RES Nurse. Teresa Metzger, ROE AIM program. Emily Haden, YMCA and Laura Bollan SBLHC Healthy Kids program. Photo submitted by SEICF.

Vincent Walk, teacher at MHS, received $10,000 for Homecoming & Career Day 2022-2023. Mr. Walk states, “These projects will connect Mattoon High School students to the community in a variety of ways. The activities of homecoming week gave students the opportunity to interact and learn about the many service organizations in the Mattoon area. It also exposed them to volunteer opportunities, which prepared them for service-learning activities later in that week.

During the spring of 2023 MHS hopes to add the inspiration of a keynote speaker and host a career/college day at Mattoon High School. MHS wants students to become more aware of local career options and opportunities and to start building professional connections with businesses and alumni, which could develop into internships and valuable mentor connections.”

The Mattoon Foundation for Academic Excellence was originally designed to support teachers in Mattoon CUSD #2 beyond the available budget of the school district. The Mattoon Foundation for Academic Excellence provided classrooms with supplies that were needed in the classroom but lacked the long-term impact the district was striving to achieve. In 2017, the Community Foundation convened school administrators, teachers, and other community leaders to realign the mission of the fund and its programming to better reflect the school’s priority and vision of strengthening the relationships between the school, families and the community. This discussion led to two new grant opportunities: Family Engagement Mini-Grants and Community Engagement Grants. Research has shown that when families, schools and communities partner in promoting learning and healthy development for all children, schools thrive, and student outcomes increase.

The Mattoon Foundation for Academic Excellence is a fund of Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation. For more information, contact Alex Pleasant, President/CEO, at 217.342.5409 or alex@southeasternillinois.org.