Dear Friends,

Many of us may remember the teacher or teachers who inspired and enlightened us at an impressionable age to pursue our dreams, talents or academics with vigor, preparing us for the journey in our lives and careers that continues today.  Having been a public educator for most of my career, I can personally attest to the rewards of the profession as well as the daily challenges our teachers face.

As a board member for The Education Fund, a non-profit organization that unites the entire community in improving the Miami-Dade County schools, I witness the struggles that every teacher must confront to provide our children with the quality education we always took for granted. I see the restrictions imposed by the commitment to standardized testing and the staggering district budget cuts ($700 million this year alone) that handicap teachers, ultimately driving gifted professionals from the field.

For 24 years, The Education Fund has provided small Teacher Mini-Grants to allow teachers to create unique curriculum projects drawn from their own passions and expertise and tailored to address their students’ needs and talents. These cash awards are the one and only resource for teachers to design innovative, stimulating projects not beholden to state curriculum mandates. Teachers not only enrich their own students, but also share with other teachers throughout the district in a formal dissemination network. Thus, a single project may reach dozens of classrooms and hundreds of students.

As a board member I have volunteered along with numerous other professionals as a Teacher Mini-Grant judge, where each year I am struck by the quality of not only the successful project ideas but also the proposals The Education Fund is financially forced to turn down.

Recent projects create opportunities we never dreamed of back in school, such as a competition at George T. Baker High School, challenging 10 young engineers to convert a gas-fueled vehicle to hydrogen power. Projects expand on cursory textbook overviews, such as an in-depth investigation into the Holocaust at Lake Stevens Middle School, where students study portraits of both courage and cowardice. Many of the projects aim simply to compensate for subjects that were compulsory and essential during better times. "To be or not to be?" is not a question on the FCAT, thus Oak Grove Community School must rely on Teacher Mini-Grants to perform Shakespeare after school. Blue Lakes Elementary teacher Maria Aluma collected and exchanged 827 books in a classroom read-and-return bookmobile program, offering the gift of reading to children who would have otherwise gone without. Indeed, most of the grants address students who have gone without their whole lives. Kathleen Capellades tells the story of a young girl from a rough neighborhood whose success in a photojournalism project at Centennial Middle School transformed her behavior and self-esteem, leading her to trade a life in a gang for extended hours in the photo lab. Viewing the student’s exceptional work, Capellades wrote, "It was one of those moments that I was able to see and feel first hand how not only I have had a strong, positive influence on a student but also how the support of The Education Fund’s grants make this possible."

While I write today to share with you these positive projects, I probably need not inform you that these resources are endangered to a point that the future of the Teacher Mini-Grants program is in serious jeopardy. I invite you to give back to the teachers who give so much of themselves.

Please take a moment to think of that teacher who changed your life and use this easy donation site to give back at a time when your support has never been more critical. Whether you can give $5, $50, or $500, your contribution will make a profound difference in the lives of children and families across our community. For more information on The Education Fund, visit www.educationfund.org.

Thanks in advance for your support.

Kindest regards,

Michael Bell