DCEF Ranks 8th in National Study of Education Foundations
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 The nation's only annual study and ranking of K-12 education foundations, "Stepping Up: The Top Education Foundations in the Nation," has ranked Douglas County Educational Foundation eighth in the nation. To view the study click here.
"This is a testament to the work of our Foundation Chapters - the PTOs, booster clubs, after-prom committees and the like - who really are the heart, hands, and feet serving our students, teachers, and schools," said Jason Christensen, Executive Director of the DCEF. "Credit is also due to the staff, the Board of Trustees, and a forward-thinking school district," he added.
According to Dave Weaver, DCEF's Chairman of its Board of Trustees, the Foundation is on the right trajectory: "We believe the Douglas County Educational Foundation is positioning itself to become the charity of choice for residents of Douglas County and beyond. By creating partnerships between our schools, non-profits, and the private sector the Foundation is taking a leadership role in serving the future generations," said Weaver.
The purpose of the study is to advocate the importance of K-12 education foundations while recognizing those that do it best. "Education foundations are innovating and enhancing public education," said Dewey Caruthers, president of dewey & associates and study author. |
Colorado Gives Day is December 8th
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Colorado Gives Day, the state's annual promotion of online charitable giving, will be held on Tuesday, December 8. Last year, approximately 1,700 non-profit organizations raised over $26.2 million dollars in this 24 hour period.
The DCEF and a handful of our chapters are participating in this year's donation drive and we encourage you to make a gift to support our schools, teachers and students. Donations can be pre-scheduled now for December 8, for those who like to plan ahead. Funds donated to the DCEF can be directed to several projects and unrestricted gifts will support our "Fill the Gap" fund, which provides grants to teachers and schools. The DCEF chapters who are participating in Colorado Gives Day include: STEM STEP, Flagstone Elementary and the Douglas County SpEd Advisory Committee. More information can be found here.
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Community Events Make Great Holiday Gifts!
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 Gather your friends and family for these exciting, discounted events while raising money for Douglas County Schools!
Thursday, Dec. 3 & Sunday, Dec. 6, 6:30 p.m.
"A Christmas Carol"
Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Event flyer.
January 9 - January 24
National Western Stock Show Community Days at the National Western Complex. Event flyer.
Sat., January 23, 7:30 p.m.
Denver Nuggets Community Night at the Pepsi Center. Event flyer.
Visit our website for more community event information.
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John Ratzenberger Headlines "Love Our Schools" Gala - January 29
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 An accomplished actor, inventor, and entrepreneur, John Ratzenberger is perhaps best known as Cliff Clavin from the popular TV show "Cheers." Ratzenberger's passion, however, is promoting career and technical education in our nation's schools. As Senior Fellow at the Center for America, he initiated the 10 by 20 Campaign which is to have 10 million newly-trained, skilled workers by 2020. John will bring his presentation, "Made in America: Expanding Skill, Education, and Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century" to Douglas County on Friday, January 29, 2016. Cielo at Castle Pines will play host to this special evening benefitting DCEF's Innovation Fund, which provides monies for classroom equipment, technology needs, student enrichment activities, and professional development opportunities for our teachers. For information or to make a reservation, click here. |
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RCHS After Prom Booster ROCKS
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| Gala Committee Chairs (L-R: Diane Keeley, Heidi Wing, Eileen White, Sheri Ballantine, Donna Carlin and Lesia Rehl)
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Rock Canyon High School After Prom Booster hosted its First Annual "Fall Parent Gala" on November 14 at the Wildlife Experience in Parker. The Gala raised over $9,700 towards future After Prom events. Chairperson Heidi Wing and RCHS Volunteer Coordinator Karen Brankin were instrumental in spear-heading this inaugural event with the help of parent volunteers.
Donations are still being accepted through the RCHS website and additional fundraisers will be announced, including "Flock a Friend" in the Spring. The Gala Committee looks forward to gaining even more momentum in the coming years for the benefit of RCHS students.
RCHS's After Prom kept over 700 students off the road in 2015 on what's known as one the most dangerous nights of the year for young people, and this year RCHS is looking to keep 800+ students off the road at one of the most well attended After Prom parties in the District. After Prom is a nationally recognized event by MADD & SADD.
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4th Annual Career Connect Expo a Great Success
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The Foundation's Career Connect 8th Grade Expo was held earlier this month at the Douglas County Event Center. Here's a look at the Expo, by the numbers:
- 5,008 8th graders from 19 DCSD middle schools attended the event
- 753 Golden Tickets were handed in by our most impressive students
- 249 staff members from 78 employers spent their day at the Expo
- 206 trips to or from the Event Center were made by 80 bus drivers
- 78 volunteers gave 268 hours for event prep, event day and clean up assistance
- 58 degrees and sunny was the high forecast for the day
- 19 new employers participated this year, including Anadarko, Google, IKEA & Microsoft
- 11 sponsors contributed $41,500 in support of the event
Thank you to everyone who participated, volunteered or attended the event, which gave our students an amazing introduction to the world of work.
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 For Treasurers | As we approach the holiday season and move further into the gala and silent auction season, we would like to remind you about our alcohol policy. Chapters may purchase alcohol for events or silent auction items and parents can be reimbursed for these purchases, whether they are for consumption or part of an auction package or wine wall. However, per District policy, alcohol (both open and closed container) is not allowed on school or district premise and employees may not be in possession of alcohol at any time on school property. Therefore, you may only host events where alcohol is present offsite, and all attendees are over the age of 21. Also, please be mindful of who will be serving the alcohol at your events. You'll want to be sure they are properly insured and TIPSŪ trained. Please call the office if you have questions: 303-387-0505.
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World Compass Academy Needs
Our Votes
| World Compass Academy is one of 10 finalists in the nationwide Bridgestone Tires "Fuel the Drive" contest, which will provide $25,000 to a school in their effort to get kids moving. The contest is fueled by fan votes, and you can vote online once daily between now and December 14 here. 
WCA hopes to use the prize money to improve the school's playground, which is a project that the WCA PTO Chapter has taken on this fall as their new school opened. They hope to purchase soccer nets, a backstop for baseball and a modest set of bleachers and paint lines for soccer and football. This field would be used by their P.E. program, intramural sports program and after-school program and will be open to the public outside of school hours, so that families and friends can come and play together.
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Jason Christensen
Executive Director
Stacey Briggs
Communications Manager
Vivian Hallberg
Bookkeeper
Alyson Plummer
Finance Manager
Ashley Sommers
Executive Assistant
Krista Zizzo Program Manager
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