Non-Technology Initiatives

The Youth’s Benefit Educational Foundation, Inc. funds many programs that support and challenge our students. Non-technology related items include but are not limited to the following:

Challenge Contests (academic competitions)
Destination Imagination
Enrichment Theater/Choral Program
Field Day Events
Field Trips
Homework Club
Newspapers in Education
Patriot Programs
President Awards
Special Nights
Special Speakers that support curriculum topics

An overview of each is listed below:

Challenge Contests – The Foundation provides registration fees for students to take part in the following academic competitions as part of the regular school day:

• Math League Contest given as a challenge to fourth and fifth grade math students in the upper level groups
• Continental Math League given as a challenge to top math groups (grades 2-5)
• Science Olympiad, Social Studies Olympiad, and Language Arts Olympiad are given to students to extend thinking in the regular curriculum in fourth and fifth grades.
• Current Events League—given to fifth graders to develop awareness of the happenings in the world around them and encourage citizenship
• Poetry and Story Writing Contest—given to provide challenges in creative writing.
• WordMaster—given to all third, fourth, and fifth grade students to promote creative and critical thinking. Three times per year, students are given vocabulary words to research and then asked to apply them using analogies.

Destination Imagination Teams – The Foundation funds the registration and expenses for materials for these competitive teams that promote problem solving and team work. These teams meet on a regular basis throughout the year and have successfully competed at regional and state competitions for several years.

Field Day Events – The Foundation funds the participation ribbons that are given out for the spring field day events as well as place ribbons for the annual fifth grade mile run.

Field Trips – The Foundation funds field trips for classes beyond our county allotment of buses. This might include special fees for admission and/or extra buses over and above what the PTA may be able to support.

Enrichment Theater/Choral Program – The Educational foundation has responded to a request from the choral/theater program to provide safer risers for students. The "Annie" production profits were able to pay for two risers and the Educational foundation has added two more. This gives the choral/theater program half of what is needed for our students’ performances. This project is continuing and should be completed this year with additional funding from the Educational Foundation and proceeds of the "Tom Sawyer" ticket admissions.

Homework Club – The Foundation provides money for snacks and payments for mentors. Recommended by teachers and/or parents, students who need extra help with basic concepts and homework assignments meet regularly after school with volunteer mentors from the middle school and high school. The Homework Club is open Monday-Thursday from 3:30-4:30 with teacher supervision.

Newspapers in Education – The Foundation provides money for newspapers to be delivered to the school to support activities and lessons about newspapers during Newspaper in Education Week. Students from grades K-5 benefit from these hands-on lessons.

Patriot Programs – The Foundation provides partial funding for the fourth and fifth grade patriot programs. Students who have met rigorous requirements are honored with pins, a special program, breakfast, and a bus trip. These programs develop a sense of commitment to our state and nation and promote citizenship.

President Awards – The Foundation funds the awards given to fifth graders who have achieved academic excellence throughout their elementary school years. With their parents attending, these students are honored at a breakfast.

Special Nights - Special curricular nights, such as ILA, science, math, are funded by the Foundation to promote awareness of the curriculum for parents and highlight student interest and achievement.

Special Speakers that support curriculum topics –- The Foundation finances special speakers to provide enrichment, background, and hands-on experiences for our students. (The Author-Illustrator program is one such example.)