We want education to be GREAT!
According to Jim Collins, author of "Good to Great" and "Built to Last", good is the enemy of great. We agree. It's not enough for our kids to have a good education, we want it to be great. LEF is where great education starts. LEF's strength is that it's an apolitical "think tank" organization that funds cutting edge ideas in the classroom. Here's how it works:
1) Energetic teachers submit proposals for the hottest new ideas in teaching. These may be programs that are working elsewhere in the nation, coming from leading researchers or simply seem logical from the perspective of the teacher.
2) Committees review the proposals, assessing it based on its potential to help our children learn better, apply their learning and more.
3) With a successful proposal, that teacher gets the resources to try their ideas in the classroom.
4) LEF monitors the outcomes of each project, looking to see how much it helped the children.
5) Very successful projects are starred and considered for ongoing funding. We also look for ways to spread the successful project to other schools. Depending on factors involved, other projects could be modified for next year or simply discontinued.
So far, over $900,000 in grants have been administered (and counting) ... and the results are incredible. We've found programs that help children learn to read faster, excel at math and science, soak up social studies more quickly and more. It's the best way to find out how to give the best education.
Here are a few recent results:
- LEF helped get 650 students excited ... about science
Kids learn more when it’s fun. That’s why LEF helped a teacher use fossils in her earth-studies class. How many will become petroleum engineers or coastal researchers? Who knows. But students who enjoy science become the adults who make the scientific breakthroughs. Join the group making education history. - LEF helped teach 600 students to recycle.
It’s important to learn responsibility at an early age. That’s the root of an LEF-funded school project about recycling. Teaching young people to care for the environment is something that will benefit everyone — even their kids. So pitch in. - LEF and CapitalOne gave 85,000 books that help students read on level.
It’s proven. New research-based reading books can dramatically improve reading skills, bringing students to higher reading levels. So when a teacher asked for them, LEF with partner CapitalOne Bank stepped up to help. Because reading is fundamental to every child’s future ... and we’re going to make sure it’s a bright one. So write a new chapter in student success. - LEF helped 653 students how to read and publish a school newspaper.
Because children who understand good communication become good communicators. And that helps when they apply for college, look for good jobs and become active citizens in Acadiana. You can help them make headlines.
The bottom line: LEF is the way Lafayette Schools will lead the nation. There's no other organization in the country that takes a revolutionary approach to improving education like Lafayette Education Foundation. LEF knows the teachers who are making it happen. You can help. Visit LafayetteEducationFoundation.org to give a child a great education.