Such support has manifested itself in recent years in fundraising to fully or partially underwrite a number of special programs – including a lecture series, student art contests, a scholarship program, an alumni recognition event, small grants for unique projects and for innovative teaching techniques across a wide spectrum of disciplines.

Shelby County Schools (www.scsk12.org) is the public k-12 district that serves the incorporated suburban and unincorporated areas of Shelby County Tennessee outside the municipal limits of the City of Memphis. Incorporated communities served by the district include Arlington, Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown, Lakeland, and Millington, Tennessee.

Shelby County Schools serves more than 46,000 students on 52 campuses. Among the nation’s 15,000+ public school districts, that places it into about 106th on the list of the nation’s largest public school districts. In recent years, the district has averaged a net gain of approximately 1,000 students each year, a growth rate paralleled by few other districts in the United States.

The Shelby County Schools Education Foundation is one of 3,000+ similar organizations around the country that are focused on improving public k-12 education in the United States, largely through mustering financial support from the private sector for application in critical programs – most frequently technology, foreign languages, physical education, music and arts.

The Foundation was created in 2001 and is governed by a Board of Directors elected by existing board members to staggered two-year terms. Bylaws permit up to 21 board members, approximately one-third of whom represent geographical regions served by the district’s seven high schools. The Foundation has a small staff housed on the campus of Bon Lin Middle School.  For more information on the Foundation and volunteer opportunities click here. To contact the Foundation for more information or to volunteer click here.