Michael E. Smith Endowment for Excellence In Education
To the teachers of the South Hadley Public School System,
We are pleased to announce that we will be awarding the second round of grants from the endowment in the winter of 2004. Attached you will find a copy of the application for this process. Our mission is to fund unique and innovative materials and opportunities for growth for the children of the school district. Michael Smith envisioned funding resources to offer our children greater exposure to innovative tools and experiences that were not affordable through the operating budget.
Please do not request funds that have been cut from the budget or have traditionally been funded through the budget. It is not our intention to fund the shortfalls of the budget but rather provide for items above and beyond that traditionally available to the children.
There are funding restrictions to assist us in keeping our mission at the forefront of this process. The endowment will not fund (a) buildings and equipment or maintenance there of (b) core, basic learning materials and supplies to be provided through the operating budget (c) salaries and benefits, excluding stipends (d) expenses recurring in the school operating budget. For examples of the grants funded last year, please visit our website at www.mesendowment.org.
Copies of the application are also available on the website www.mesendowment.org. Please have completed applications post marked by Thursday, December 18, 2003. Applications should be mailed directly to the endowment at P.O. Box 847, South Hadley, MA 01075.
We are very excited about the number of new programs and resources being instituted in the schools as a result of teachers’ participation in last year’s grant process and we look forward to all of your wonderful ideas again this year. Please do not hesitate to contact Pam Simpson at pamjeffs@comcast.net with any questions during the process.
Thank you for all that you do for the children of South Hadley,
Sincerely,
The Board of the Michael E. Smith Endowment for Excellence in Education