The Annenberg Connection
In 1993 Ambassador Walter Annenberg made a $500 million dollar pledge to public education in this country. He did it in the form of a Challenge Grant. He allowed cities throughout the country to submit proposals to be a part of this grant. Only 18 of these were selected to receive funds. A proposal covering the tri-county area of South Florida, (Dade, Broward and Palm Beach), was one selected.
The South Florida Annenberg Challenge (SFAC) worked like this: if we raised $1 of public and $1 of private money, we would receive a $1 match from Annenberg, with a total possible match of 3.4 million dollars. In October 2001, we met the goal of raising the 66 million. Therefore, a total of $100 million went toward improving public education in South Florida.
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The South Florida Annenberg Challenge officially ended December 31st, 2002, the challenge to improve public education for each and every child continues! The Council for Educational Change, the permanent successor organization of the SFAC, continued the work of the Challenge. Utilizing three million dollars of seed money from the Annenberg Foundation, the Council continued to mobilize public and private resources to make bold, comprehensive changes in schools and to stimulate gains in student achievement throughout the state of Florida.
Walter and Leonore Annenberg
ANNENBERG FOUNDATION GRANTS
Leonore Annenberg School Fund for Children
as a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania
Total of $1,410,250 Distributed to 23 Schools Throughout Florida
Impacting
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7 School Districts
20 Schools
43 School leaders
722 Teachers
9,800+ Students
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The Council for Educational Change served as an Annenberg School Fund liaison to identify schools that met the Foundation’s grant requirements and helped them shape school improvement grant proposals. We served as the fiscal agent for these awards.
The grants were targeted for elementary schools to provide resources to level the playing field for schools in underserved communities with a high population of students on the F/R lunch program.
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The grants provided much needed resources such as: updating/new technology, interactive white boards, STEM related materials, and updating libraries, to name a few.
The Leonore Annenberg
College Scholarship Fund
$1,250,000 in Scholarships Among Five Florida Students
The Leonore Annenberg Scholarship Fund reflects the late Leonore Annenberg’s lifelong commitment to education and her desire to prepare the next generation of national and international leaders.
During 2012 and 2013 the Council served as the Fund’s liaison to identify and screen high school juniors of uncommon intelligence, empathy, and drive who overcame challenging circumstances and demonstrated exceptional character and academic achievement. The Council recommended these outstanding candidates to a national Selection Council who conducted additional interviews with the candidates and made the final award decisions.
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Once identified grant recipients received a four-year, all-expense scholarship to any fully accredited, U.S.-based college or university. A knowledgeable and committed mentor assisted each scholar through the process of selecting, applying to, and preparing for college. The mentor also maintains contact with the scholar throughout the college years.
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