For more information contact:
Davia Moss 407/320-0176 or davia+moss@scps.us
Mary Chance 352/338-0250 or marychance@cfef.net
Seminole County Public School Board Member, Ms. Dede Schaffner, was among two statewide “Star” Superintendents and School Board Members in Florida recognized for their exemplary leadership by the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations (CFEF) December 5th at the 68th Annual Joint Conference of Florida School Boards Association and Florida Association of District School Superintendents held in Tampa. This year’s STAR awards were sponsored by Bank of America, a strong and longtime supporter of local education foundations as well as a supporter of the statewide effort to strengthen education foundations through the CFEF.
Local education foundations from throughout the state nominated school system leaders for the seventh annual awards. Nominees were reviewed by other education foundation directors in the state and rated for their leadership and involvement with their local education foundation.
In a letter of support for Ms. Schaffner, Wayne Weinberg, President of Leadership Seminole, declared that if there was a Mount Rushmore Memorial in Seminole county for education, she would be the first person in it. Tirelessly serving her community and its students, Ms. Schaffner dedicates herself to countless numbers of volunteer organizations and utilizes every resource at her disposal to support the youth in her district. Ms. Schaffner is well-known for founding the Dividends School Volunteer program, a group of 18,000 volunteers that has provided more than $200 million in donated services to Seminole County Public Schools. Today, other programs that she has developed, including Arts Alive in Seminole! and Midway Safe Harbor, still offer support to the children in her community.
CFEF 2013 STAR awards, sponsored by Bank of America, were presented to:
Mr. Robert Runcie – Superintendent, Broward County
Ms. Dede Schaffner –School Board Member, Seminole County
The Consortium of Florida Education Foundations (CFEF) is the membership organization for Florida’s school district-wide local education foundations. Established in 1987, CFEF seeks to advance student achievement in Florida by increasing private sector investment and involvement in public education. CFEF now has 59 member foundations with 1,100 business and community leaders serving as volunteer board members. Collectively, they raise more than $50 Million annually to support students, teachers and schools through a variety of programs. CFEF has provided more than $26.5 Million to local education foundations since 2002 through various private and public sector partnerships, including the State of Florida School District Education Foundation Matching Grant Program.
To learn more about the CFEF, visit www.cfef.net or contact Mary Chance, President, at (352) 338-0250 or marychance@cfef.net.