Hello Carlisle community,
It has been a while since we have gathered to celebrate and support initiatives at Carlisle Public School (CPS.) At last, we can! The Carlisle Education Foundation is teaming up with the Parent Teacher Organization to re-ignite our culture of giving and our community support for education with an exciting event. We can’t wait to see many of your at Monte Carlisle, April 28th at the Westford Regency Hotel. There are limited tickets still available, and we hope to see you all, but if you are unable to attend, you can still support the school by attending the auction remotely. Bidding starts one week early on April 23rd!
Your support has always been essential to maintaining our school’s excellence. Though we were thwarted by a global pandemic and our fundraising efforts were slowed, our efforts to support CPS were, perhaps, the greatest they have ever been.
The CEF saw the pandemic as a “silver lining” opportunity to move forward with a long-planned project to construct a music/performing arts practice facility within the school. The William Wolfgang Shaw Performing Arts room was completed during the summer of 2020 and into the fall of 2020 before students could attend school in person. That space served a special purpose before it was to be used for music; it started its new life as a fourth grade classroom – providing the school with the space necessary to allow for the social distancing required to bring kids back in person.
The pandemic created other needs beyond spacial ones. When it was clear that we needed to hold classes remotely, Carlisle was one of the first districts to be off and running with a plan. The CEF purchased the zoom licenses the school needed within 72 hours of the shut-down. During the two years following lock-down, the CEF continued to support our teachers and students by supplying wireless microphones for the performing arts, funding nearly $10,000 worth of robotics kits, and supporting content based professional development for nearly half of the middle school educators. Additionally, we funded professional development for elementary educators to improve technology integration for special education.
We weren’t perfect, however. One CEF initiative that turned out to be ill-timed, was the purchase of over 50 collaborative whiteboard tables for the middle school math and all elementary classrooms. In our time of social distancing, collaboration took a back seat. However, the CEF is delighted that these tables are fully in use now and that our elementary and middle schoolers are problem solving together.
The CEF seeks to support professional development, innovation adoption, and other ways to enhance education in Carlisle. While we hope the school budget can cover the needs of our students and staff, we are there to fill the gaps and respond to the desires and the imaginations of our impressive faculty. We are very proud of what we have accomplished with the help of our generous community, and we hope to continue to surprise and delight our educators and students.
Thank you for your support,
CEF