Dayton Daily News - August 2022
By Nick Blizzard, Staff Writer
Aug 10, 2022
KETTERING — A new foundation is being launched, aimed at improving opportunities and educational impact for Kettering City Schools students and families.
The Kettering City Schools Forward Foundation will work with the district to connect students, families, alumni and businesses, organizers said.
The foundation, which has an independent 501(c)(3) charitable organization status, has about $30,000 in donations, Executive Director Jessica Stickel said.
It has scheduled a 10 a.m. launching Thursday in Fairmont High School’s Recital Hall.
“We have strong traditions in Kettering and an alumni network that stretches far and wide,” Stickel said in a release announcing the launch.
“I’m excited to lead the KCS Forward Foundation in strengthening those connections for alumni, current Kettering students and families, and business and community members,” she said.
The foundation provides “an avenue to continue to move our school system forward for generations to come,” President Jim Berlon said in the announcement.
A similar group, the Kettering Education Foundation, was established in 1990. It supports the Kettering schools’ innovative efforts for K-12 education and has raised more than $300,000 and sponsored more than 400 grants, according to its website.
The KEF grants scholarships to seniors and classroom grants for teachers while the new organization’s focus is on staff development and building grants, Stickel said.
The new foundation has a donation earmarked for Fairmont provided by the estate of a longtime Kettering supporter, Stickel said in email. It also has an in-kind donation of equipment to the school’s Career Technology Center’s media program, she added.
The foundation is focused on educational grants for staff externships to give them hands-on experiences in their career field to bring back to their classrooms and the school community, Stickel said.
“Our building and equipment grant focus will be on large projects,” she said. “This new foundation will complement what the Kettering Education Foundation has done so well for the last several decades.”
“We have met with the KEF and will strive to ensure our individual and collaborative efforts serve Kettering students and families in the best ways possible,” Stickel added.
