The Pyle Education Foundation: Staff, parents and administrators working together to make Pyle a better place for your student.
Did you know that the Pyle Education Foundation provides grants to supply students and staff members with programs and services not covered by the MCPS budget?
Did you also know that the Pyle Education Foundation is solely supported by generous donations from you?
The Pyle Education Foundation raises funds to support needed projects to enrich and extend the education of the Pyle Middle School community. Working with Pyle staff and parent leadership, the Foundation assesses the transformative potential of our combined resources to fund unmet facility, equipment, and program needs. We are a volunteer-run, 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt fundraising organization.
The Board is asking for your support to help fund all the projects the Foundation supports here at Pyle.
Please DONATE an amount that works for your family's budget to the Pyle Education Foundation using Donorbox PayPal or Pay For School Stuff
The PEF Grant Program
Every year the PEF awards grants to promote the mission of enhancing the educational experience of students at Pyle and other public elementary and secondary education schools within the cluster, including all elementary schools that feed into Pyle and also Walt Whitman High School. The three broad categories the Foundation funds are educational programs, staff professional development and facility improvements. Grant amounts will be based on need, merit and available resources. The PEF accepts grant applications on a rolling basis. The PEF Board meets monthly and will review requests received and notify applicants promptly.
PYLE EDUCATION FOUNDATION PROJECTS:
- White boards and markers to faciliate virtual education
- Hand sanitizer stations
- Materials for 6th graders' Outdoor Education
- Choral accompanist to facilitate virtual choral instruction
- Zoom membership to enable community involvement in PTSA and Counseling Advisory Committee (CAC) meetings
- Professional training for a new engineering teacher or Project Lead the Way (PLTW) engineering curriculum
- Staff professional development
- Orchestral sectional coaches
- Drop-in IM support
- SPIRIT/TAG Tutors Leadership Seminar
- Cardio equipment in the new addition
- Shakespeare Artist in Residence Program
- Teacher workshops, professional training and staff development conferences
- New keyboard for Chorus
- Choral accompanist
- After school math tutoring
- After school writing center
- New equipment for the TV Studio
- Book Wars competition
- Bullying seminar
- Teacher workshops and staff development conferences
- New benches made of repurposed wood from the "PE Gum Tree"
- Shakespeare in the Classroom
- Aquaponics installation tin the Pyle Courtyard
- Enhanced Makerspace in the Media Center
- After school Algebra support
- New Bike Racks
- New Video Equipment for the TV Studio
- New musical instruments, including professional demonstrations
- Teacher workshops and staff development conferences
- Shakespeare in the Classroom - including authentic Shakespearean actors to teach workshops
- NEW “Makerspace” program available to all students in the Media Center
- Aquaponics ecosystem in courtyard
- Water bottle filling stations
- After-school algebra support
- Outdoor furniture for the courtyard
- New musical instruments
- Teacher workshops and staff development conferences
- Mindfulness instruction for teachers
- Shakespeare in the Classroom where real Shakespearean actors teach workshops
- Mindfulness instruction by Minds, Inc. for staff and students
- Shakespeare in the Classroom
- Thirty-two new laptops and a portable cart
- Choral risers
- Thirty-five new microscopes
- Fifteen new sewing machines.
- Drama and Technology training
- Two teachers to attend Educator's Initiative from North Carolina Outward Bound
- Three teachers to attend Association of Middle Level Educators conference in Columbus, Ohio.
- Conference attendance for instrumental music teacher
- Conference attendance for choral teacher
- Clinics for both choral and orchestra students
- Support of TAG mindfulness program
- Twenty new yoga mats and cart for monthly yoga for students
- Planners for rising Whitman freshmen
- Co-funded Pyle App
Seeking Transformative Ideas to Improve Pyle
The Pyle Education Foundation funds projects that enhance the greater Pyle community. The Foundation focuses on projects for facilities, equipment and/or programs that have a multi-year impact. In looking to prioritize future fundraising goals, the Board of the Foundation is seeking suggestions for transformative projects for the 2021-2022 school year and beyond. Any administrator, teacher, parent or student with suggestions should contact the Pyle Education Foundation president at pyleeducationfoundation@gmail.com or any of the PEF Board Members below. We would love to hear from you.
PEF Board Members (Parent Volunteers) for 2021-2022:
Elena Naum (President), Sara Vogelhut (VP, Grant Administrator), Shannon Buskirk (Treasurer), Stephanie Mantelmacher (Fundraising Chair), Betsy Megary (Fundraising), Courtney Dorning (Fundraising), Lindsey Markwood (Fundraising), Marysol Cummings (Secretary), and Chris Nardi (Principal).