Decatur City Schools Foundation

The Decatur City Schools Foundation (DCSF) announces reaching $570,000 in funding of its $1 million goal. The Foundation received this funding through pledges, gifts, and grants from individuals, smalls businesses, corporations and non-profits. The Foundation began the Strong Schools. Strong Community. (SSSC) campaign in 2014 following their successful It Starts With Our Schools 5-year campaign, 2009-2014. SSSC will capitalize on accomplishments established through the It Starts With Our Schools initiatives in Decatur City Schools. The campaign goals are to increase student achievement, enhance classroom technology, expand career tech resources, and continue the partnership with the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) to ensure data based measurement and accountability of all initiatives. “Reports reveal that we have made progress over the last few years, but new test scores show there is much work to be done. We are confident through the support of the community ...

Lisa Jones, DCSF; Daniel Beggs, Boeing; Jesslyn Reeves, DCSF; Don Snow, AHS Boeing has awarded the Decatur City Schools Foundation a $55,000 grant to provide teacher professional development that will ultimately increase graduation rates and the college and career readiness of Decatur City Schools students. Decatur City Schools (DCS) and its School Board have initiated a strategic plan that contains aggressive goals for increasing student achievement measured by data such as test scores and graduation rates. The Foundation supports this effort and is working with supporters such as Boeing to provide funding for programs that make a direct impact. Connect: Finish Strong (CFS) is a dropout prevention program focused on enhancing teachers and administrators’ skills in data analysis, leadership, math, reading, and academic interventions; providing support of students identified to be at-risk of dropping out; and strengthening engagement of all DCS high school students. In partic...

Volunteers from St. John’s Episcopal Church have partnered with Banks-Caddell Elementary School to help students after school with their homework through a program suitably named Homework Helpers. St. John’s, Village Faith Church, Rotary Club, and Christmas Tours of Old Decatur and Albany support the program. The funding provides teachers to oversee the program,snacks for the students, and transportation home for the children. This is the third full year Homework Helpers has been operating at Banks-Caddell. The first year was an experimental six-week program. A pool of 28 volunteers tutor students 3 afternoons each week beginning in September and ending in mid April. St. John’s volunteers include retirees, full-time employees, and high school students. Principal Linda McLain says, “Students benefit from the partnership because they get extra help on their homework, even if it’s not complete they get a good start on it. Plus, they have mentors in the program and that’s goo...

BP America and the BP Decatur Chemical site today donated $30,000 to the Decatur City Schools Foundation to support the Wetlands Edge Environmental Center (WEEC). A partnership formed 15 years ago between Decatur City Schools and BP, the Wetland Edge Environmental Center has provided an important educational mission, improving wildlife education in the heart of Decatur.Decatur City Schools Foundation believes that every student deserves a chance to succeed and that the future well being of our community starts with our schools. Educational opportunities such as Wetland’s Edge provide our students with an enhanced Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM) experience to prepare our students to be competitive in science. The Decatur City Schools (DCS) system serves more than 8,600 students in Decatur, Alabama. The district is composed of two high schools, three middle schools, and 12 elementary schools. WEEC has served over 60,000 students and adults from Decatur...