Sioux Falls Public Schools Education Foundation

This morning, we had the distinct pleasure of surprising Jane Eilertson at Garfield Elementary! Mrs. Eilertson is the longest-tenured teacher in the Sioux Falls School District, and tomorrow she will start her 42nd year with students! She has spent 40 years at Garfield, most of them as a kindergarten teacher! When asked what her favorite part of her career has been, she said, “Loving them [my students] with my whole heart.” The Education Foundation worked with Principal Kristin Skogstad to keep this morning’s presentation a surprise, so tune in to Dakota News Now, KELOLAND Media Group, and the Argus Leader to see how her colleagues reacted when the announcement was made and to hear stories from Jane about bringing piglets into the school and letting students read in a bathtub in her classroom! 

We kicked off the 2024-2025 Goodwill Tour this morning at Jefferson High School and Laura Wilder Elementary! We delivered 18 dozen school-themed treats from Flyboy Donuts to thank educators for the time they have spent preparing for students! Thank you, Vern Eide , for supporting staff appreciation efforts in all buildings! 

In this story from KELOLAND News, you'll hear from Molli Tarabelsi, a new teacher who received a $200 First Time Teacher Grant! Mrs. Tarabelsi will welcome students to her class at Rosa Parks Elementary next week!  https://lnkd.in/gG_BGyPS

In this feature story from Dakota News Now, Carrie Southard and Christa Yoder, two new teachers in the Sioux Falls School District, share how they plan to use their $200 First Time Teacher Grants to buy supplies for their classrooms! https://lnkd.in/d_4kiafs

This morning at Jefferson High School, Education Foundation staff and volunteers announced First Time Teacher Grants! There are 70 educators from 33 schools in the Sioux Falls School District who will each receive $200 to purchase supplies for their classroom. With the announcement, the Education Foundation has funded more than 1,000 First Time Teacher Grants since the program’s inception in 2011! Special thanks to Mary Chilton DAR Foundation for matching $100 for each classroom grant! Tune in to the Argus Leader, Dakota News Now, KELO, and South Dakota Public Broadcasting for interviews with new staff! 

We “art” what we do! Today, the Education Foundation received an incredibly generous $100,000 donation from the James A. Winker Family Trust! Funds will be used to support and enhance visual arts programming in the Sioux Falls School District! Members of the Winker family were in town to present the check to Education Foundation Board and staff members! We can’t wait to “canvas” the possibilities!  

And there are already 215 students registered for the guitar class this fall! Thank you, Pepper Entertainment, for generously supporting the Sioux Falls School District! 

Sarah Henrichs, Kelsey Burns, and Erin McFarland from McGovern Middle School received a $2,315 Public School Proud Grant to purchase adaptive PE equipment. They put the specialized trikes together yesterday and took them for a quick spin! 

Jenny Joffer, first grade teacher at All City Elementary, received a Public School Proud Grant this year to purchase Osmo coding kits that will help students develop problem solving and logic skills! She ordered the supplies, and students were able to use them for a few lessons before the end of the school year! 

Last week, students in Lindsey Gray’s fifth grade class at All City Elementary got to work with geodes that were funded through a Public School Proud Grant! In their memory books, a few students recorded that they now want to be geologists!