Continues Support

SUPPORT CONTINUES

by Brooke Ezzo

The Northwest ISD Education Foundation (NEF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works directly with the district and communities to create programs that engage students and provide resources to enable students and teachers to achieve their highest potential.

Education foundations come in to further support and serve the needs of the district on a more personal level.

Tax dollars for a school district mainly cover the basics. Education foundations come in to further support and serve the needs of the district on a more personal level. NEF teams up with community partners to ensure that each student and teacher has what is needed to confidently navigate their future.

Alyssa Edstrom, NEF’s Community Relations Specialist, said the foundation has several roles in the district. Their main programs include grants for teachers, which support classrooms and educational opportunities like creative projects. Another priority is student scholarships.

When the coronavirus pandemic started, and Governor Abbott encouraged schools to close, Alyssa and leadership teams within the district got together to redirect

all programs to a district level — thus taking away the responsibility of each campus to ensure health safety district-wide.

Initiatives like the Snack Pack Program that is normally at a campus level were brought to one centralized location. As a result, there was a lot of planning that had to be done to keep the students from going without. Alyssa teamed up with Hailee Fojtasek, Community Engagement and Marketing Specialist with Northwest ISD Partners in Education, to make sure

the Snack Pack Program continued during this time.

Another one of Hailee’s roles in the district is bringing in community partnerships. These partnerships include local businesses and faith-based organizations that are close to each campus. These businesses and organizations adopt a campus to help when there is a need.

Some of these partnerships include Tanger Outlets, EECU Credit Union, Pinnacle Bank, Haslet Community Outreach, and many more. They donate funds to the foundation to ensure that students are being fed and have additional school supplies such as gradelevel reading books and even hygiene products. Alyssa said over 1,200 books

were purchased for students across the district.

“Reading is so critical, especially at an elementary level,” Alyssa said. “We really wanted to make sure that not only did these students have basic school supplies but to make sure they are continuing to read and continuing to learn.”

With the district finishing out the year with in-home learning, NEF created the iNvest2Serve initiative as a way for people to partner with the foundation. Behind the scenes, the foundation goes above and beyond to support students and teachers.

“Our grant program always covers ideas teachers submit to us,” Alyssa said. “We do things like literacy by getting

“Our goal is to make sure we are aligning with the district’s priorities to support students and teachers...”

books into schools. We’ve done STEM projects, robotics kits, and much more.”

These grants are given during the school year to make sure learning experiences are enhanced.

“Our goal is to make sure we are aligning with the district’s priorities to support students and teachers,” Alyssa said. “We meet with Superintendent Dr. Warren and his staff to make sure we understand what the district is focusing on and that we are supporting those programs.”

NEF is made up of board members, an advisory board, and community members. While we are all feeling the effects of the pandemic, our community needs to know that NEF and their partners have not quit working, and they are shifting gears to make sure that all students and teachers are provided for.

To find current opportunities to support the Northwest ISD Education Foundation, visit www.NISDTX.org/Serve.