SPEF to celebrate 40 years serving educators and student classroom experiences

Sep. 10—When the Stillwater Public Education Foundation began in 1984, its mission was to enhance educational opportunities at Stillwater Public Schools.

For decades, the foundation has filled in gaps where needed and provided innovative ways of educating students in the district, including offering grants for educators.

Now, 40 years later, it's planning to celebrate its achievements with "A Celebration of Education" event, which open to the public.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. Sept. 24 at Sparrow Beginnings at 5317 S. Hartford Street in Stillwater. Tickets may be purchased at spef.stillwaterschools.com.

The event will feature dinner, a live and silent auction, presentations by SPEF grant honorees and special remarks from SPEF stakeholders. SPEF's first executive director, Marcia Karns, will be the keynote speaker.

"At the heart, it's a fundraising dinner, where we want to show off what we're doing, and what we hope to continue doing for Stillwater public education," SPEF Executive Director Emily Lewis said. "... And this year, especially, celebrating our 40 years, it's going to be a great big birthday party, basically."

It's also a time for the foundation to highlight the 35 grants awarded in the past year. Some were district-wide, some were for one whole school and some were for specific classes in one school. Those teachers will be highlighted, as well.

About $50,000 has been awarded in grant monies in the past three years, toward funds such as the Charlie P. Hall Band Fund, the Jenifer Bartley Technology Fund, Onward Arts Campaign and play-based education.

The latter area had a bigger boost in the last year from the Simmons First Foundation to support play-based learning in the classroom.

One of the first purchases the SPEF ever made was a computer for Stillwater Middle School for $1,700, Lewis said. In today's dollars, that computer would have cost more than $5,200.

"And now, most middle schoolers have smartphones," Lewis said.

Additionally, SPEF purchased a lot of telescopes and microscopes for classrooms that first year, Lewis said, and 40 years later, most of those are probably not there anymore.

"We really come back to enhancing that classroom experience," Lewis said. "The teachers are going to benefit, the students are going to benefit, and that's what we want to see happen."

Lewis thanked the many corporate sponsors who have supported SPEF, and said some also helped pay for tickets for Stillwater educators to attend the event.

Former director Karns said it was "encouraging to see how much we have accomplished since 1984."

"SPEF has given more than $1.8 million to Stillwater educators since the organization began," Karns said in a press release. "I'm looking forward to celebrating with educators and challenging the community to further the organization's impact in the coming years."

The fundraising banquet will highlight both the foundation's work in the past 40 years and the corporate partners throughout Stillwater and the surrounding community who have helped make it possible.

"From exciting opportunities like new drones to enhance our aviation program at the high school to championing play-based learning in the Pre-K classrooms, which provides vital learning opportunities to our youngest Pioneers, each of us at SPEF is honored to play a small part along with our incredibly generous community members and corporate sponsors that make these opportunities possible," SPEF Board of Trustees President Robin Fuxa said. "Working with SPEF is such a pleasure because we get to enhance both the learning and the joy of SPS students thanks to the creativity and commitment of the district's amazing educators."