Photo IDs (L-R):

Pacetti Bay Middle School - Jim Wheeler, CAFE president; Sue Sparkman, principal; Sherry Davidson, CAFE founder Café

Wards Creek - Wheeler, Principal Don Campbell and Davidson

Mill Creek - Davidson, Principal Mary Ford and Wheeler

 
CAFÉ funds more than $40,000 in programs
and equipment for area schools
Mill Creek, Pacetti Bay and Wards Creek receive grants 

 
St. Augustine, Fla. (June 9, 2008) – Community Alliance Funding Education (CAFÉ) recently provided more than $40,000 in grants to Mill Creek Elementary, Pacetti Bay Middle School and Wards Creek Elementary for new equipment and programs. CAFÉ is a private foundation for public education in Northwest St. Johns County.

Mill Creek Elementary received more than $10,455 for 17 multimedia liquid crystal display (LCD) projectors, which help students visualize and retain information. All intermediate level classrooms are currently equipped with the projectors, so this purchase will help bring the primary grades to the same technological level. The school also received $12,840 for 24 Elmo document cameras, which teach students how to project documents, books and experiments onto a screen via an LCD projector.

Jim Wheeler of Florida Capital Bank and president/founding member of CAFÉ and Sherry Davidson, president of Davidson Realty and founder of CAFÉ, recently presented the checks to each school’s principal.

“By allowing the students to use one source instead of making multiple copies of documents or books, it saves money on photocopies for the school. It is also more environmentally friendly and efficient,” said Davidson. “This technology will allow students to lead lessons, encourage presentation skills and allow for a higher interaction among their peers.”

Pacetti Bay Middle School received $6,000 for four SMART boards, interactive display that energizes presentations, therefore motivating students. The boards combine the simplicity of a whiteboard (dry-erase board) with the power of a computer.

The school also received $4,950 for an Adobe CS3 Design Standard K-12 site license. “This software will enable us to create a Graphic Design Summer Camp as well as a graphic design elective for the 2008-09 school year,” said the school’s principal, Sue Sparkman, in the grant request. “We are fortunate to include as part of our faculty an outstanding art teacher who is a very talented graphic design artist as well. The software will be loaded on every computer in the school and does not require a fee each year.”

Wards Creek Elementary received a $4,000 grant that will allow Melissa Forney, an author, writing consultant and conference speaker, to present a writing improvement workshop to the school’s teachers. The school also received $2,000 to be used for supplies for a summer art camp.

CAFÉ’s mission is to increase the learning opportunities for students by providing resources that support student learning, promoting enhanced technology-based learning and introducing arts and culture into the educational lives of students.  For more information, contact Sherry Davidson at (904) 940-5000.  

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