The Ed. Foundation, previously known as the Port Washington Education Foundation, has played a large role in the community for 14 years.  This non-profit organization works to enhance educational opportunities for students in the district.  It works to seek donations, grants, and government funds which greatly benefit the school district.

Recently, the Foundation has undergone some changes.  One change is the new name.

For nearly all of its years running, the Ed. Foundation was known as the Port Washington Education Foundation (PWEF).  Members of the Foundation believed this name did not quite do it justice, and in the fall of this year, a decision was made to change the name.

“It was not really a name that was well known or recognized in Port Washington.  People didn’t know who we were.  Ultimately, our board made a decision that we needed something a little simpler for people to remember and say,” said President of the Ed. Foundation, Mrs. Paula Whitman.

In addition to the name change, the new tagline, “inspiring education in Port,” and the new logo are intended to make the Foundation stand out in the community and be more relatable to a new generation of parents.

Since many called the PWEF the Ed. Foundation anyway, members do not expect this change to come off as a major surprise.

The change most relevant to the Schreiber students, however, is that the Foundation started a junior board this year.  This board, made up entirely of Schreiber students, was formed as a way to get students directly involved.

The Ed. Foundation has always wanted to find a way to include students because the work it does is for them, and forming a junior board seemed like the best way.

“By forming a junior board, we now have a direct link to the students in the high school,” said Ms. Whitman. “Our hope is that we can get these kids actively involved in helping us with all the different things that we do.  But most importantly, we want to bring awareness to the students about the grants we have in the school and about the projects that we fund.  It’s just a way to reach out to this younger generation and get them involved in our work.”

The junior board was opened to anybody from grades nine through twelve and now consists of around 20 students.  In order to receive an officer position on the board, students were required to fill out a form and complete a short essay in response to why they wanted the specific position for which they were applying.  The positions are supposed to mirror the ones already on the adult board and the students often work with their counterpart on the adult board.

“I think the creation of the junior board was a fantastic addition,” said senior and Executive Vice President of the junior board Sophie Lipstein.  “Since each junior board member works closely with their corresponding board member on the adult board, they are able to see how the kids have used the grants and get our opinions on what we think is most important as students.”

Each job has its own specific responsibility that matches up with the job description. For example, the job of the Executive Vice President is to work closely with the President in order to look over and manage all the work the other board members are doing.

It is the Vice President of Marketing and Publicity’s job to take care of all marketing and publicity of The Ed.  Foundation events and programs, including activities of the junior board within Schreiber and other Port Washington public schools.

In addition, all members are required to attend a junior board meeting held once a month.

“I think the junior board is a great way for students to help raise money and spread information.  It’s also good to have because the students involved are able to see where the money comes from and see how we get all of our privileges,” said senior and Junior Board Vice President of Marketing and Publicity Tori Finkle.