Buiding a Legacy: HCS Foundation celebrates 25 years, looks to future

In the 25 years since Byron Nelson founded the Homewood City Schools Foundation, the small program that awarded a few grants a year has grown into one that impacts every Homewood student every day.

The foundation has awarded over $1 million in grants over the years, but the last few years have seen a huge increase with about $100,000 being awarded each year. This money goes toward curriculum enhancement and teacher development.

“We’re not trying to fill gaps,” said Tray Ivey, HCSF board president. “The school system is great. We’re trying to support innovative thinking from teachers and give them a chance to provide some creative ways to reach students.”

Some grants focus on a specific population of students, such as students who have experienced trauma, students with learning difficulties and students who have anxiety. Other grants are districtwide, affecting every student in Homewood.

Looking back on all the grants the foundation has funded since he joined the board, Ivey said the funding of virtual reality headsets has been most memorable. The headsets were expensive, so the foundation only funded them for one school at first to see how the students responded.

It was so popular and effective the foundation then funded headsets for all five Homewood schools.

“If you’re talking about certain types of biodiversity in the oceans, you can put your virtual reality headset on and do a scuba trip to the coral reef,” he said.

“You’re talking about ancient Rome, and you can put that on and walk through the streets and see what it was like. It’s bringing the classroom learning off of the text and into a real visual 3-D sensory approach to the child,” Ivey said.

For Carlye Dudgeon, who is in her first year as foundation director, a grant that stood out most was the districtwide funding for Orton-Gillingham teacher training. This teaching method uses multisensory strategies, such as touch and movement, to improve reading instruction.

The teachers previously had to take a week off to attend this training in other cities. With the grant funding, which was awarded last fall, the foundation has been able to bring the training to Homewood.

“We can do it less expensively and train 19 teachers in each level,” Dudgeon said. “The note we got back from the teachers was glowing.”

The foundation has two grant cycles each year that are funded by its two annual fundraisers, Homewood Grown and Grateful Dads. New this year will be the focus on its capital campaign, Legacy for Learning.

“It’s time to continue the annual fundraising and grant cycles,” Ivey said. “Those are great, but let’s do something for the long term. Let’s do something that would leave a legacy for the school system.”

The goal is to raise money in the form of an endowment to fund programs annually outside of the grant cycle. Teachers won’t have to apply for a grant for these programs — money will already be set aside.

“They’re programs that we identify that help at-risk, transient students,” Ivey said. “And we can set aside dollars that will be available each year, year after year, to help that program succeed.”

The foundation’s next fundraiser will be Homewood Grown on May 1. This year’s celebration will be held at Patriot Park, with catering by Gianmarco’s. Proceeds from the event will help fund future grants.

“Homewood City Schools Foundation is a very efficient board,” Ivey said. “Almost every dollar we take in from the community goes directly back into the classrooms or into the teachers’ development. And that just adds to what I think makes the school system special.”

For more information, visit homewoodcityschoolsfoundation.com.