We are proud to announce that The Foundation for Seminole County Public Schools was ranked 10th in a national study of K-12 education foundations. “Stepping Up: The Top K-12 Education Foundations in the Nation” is the nation’s only study and ranking of K-12 education foundations.
The Foundation for Seminole County Public Schools is one of six Florida education foundations to rank among the top 25 foundations in the nation. According to Stepping Up, the study is aimed at advocating the importance of K-12 education foundations while also recognizing those that do it best. Stepping Up takes a look at eight key performance categories to determine the rankings. Those categories are: annual revenues, revenues per student, total assets, assets per student, investment income, total program expenses, expenses per student, and human capital (volunteers).
Dewey Caruthers, president of Dewey and Associates and author of the study, stated “Education foundations enhance public education in many vital ways: for instance, with scholarships that send low-income students to college, and arts and music programs that open children’s minds to more than a high-stakes test and dropout prevention efforts that keep students from quitting, just to name a few.”
The study reviews K-12 education foundations in the top 100 largest school districts in the nation (by population), and the impact of the foundation based on the number of students in the district. There were six Florida education foundations in the top 25 and a total of 12 ranking in the top 50. “Based on the Stepping Up rankings, we can see that Florida education foundations are positively effecting public education, and that deserves national recognition,” said Caruthers. “Some foundations raise large amounts of money but when compared to the number of students in their district it becomes clear the impact on most students is minimal.” The foundations that appear in the most categories were ranked highest emphasizing the importance of being well rounded, having more resources and impacting both students and teachers.
“We are so proud of the hard work, dedication and commitment that The Foundation for Seminole County Public Schools has for SCPS! Their board members and volunteers are extremely passionate about doing what’s best for our kids and helping to assist wherever needed. We can’t thank them enough for all they do!” stated Dr. Walt Griffin, Superintendent, SCPS.