-
LEAVING A LEGACY SCHOLARSHIP DINNER
Bobby and Karen Harrison Joyce Ruise Patricia Weeks Dr. George Weeks
Baker County Education Foundation’s
14th Annual Leaving A Legacy Scholarship DinnerThe Baker County Education Foundation is pleased to announce the honorees for the 14th annual Leaving a Legacy Scholarship Dinner.
This year we will be recognizing Mr. Bobby and Mrs. Karen Harrison, Mrs. Joyce Ruise, and Dr. George and Mrs. Patricia Weeks. Both Mr. and Mrs. Harrison retired after many years of service in the Baker County School District. Coach Harrison was a teacher, coach, and athletic director at BCHS. He has most recently served as a driver's education instructor. Mrs. Karen Harrison taught in multiple roles over the years at BCHS, ultimately concluding her service as a guidance secretary at the middle school. Mrs. Ruise began her career in 1977 at Baker County High School as the front desk receptionist. She later moved to Westside Elementary, where she served until her retirement. She has been recognized in the past as the District School-Related Employee of the Year for her outstanding work ethic, kindness, and professionalism. Mrs. Patricia Weeks was elected to the Baker County School Board in 1992. Over her 28-year tenure, she played an integral role in advancing our district, particularly with the development of policies and procedures that remain in place today. She was a passionate advocate for various school programs, including AFJROTC, agriculture, and pre-kindergarten education. Dr. George Weeks served our community for over 40 years through his dental practice. He was a staunch supporter of our public schools and helped implement dental education programs in elementary schools. Dr. Weeks volunteered his time teaching and reading to students, and he assisted many families in need by providing free dental care.
The Leaving a Legacy Scholarship steak dinner will be held on Thursday, March 13, 2025, at 6:30 PM in the cafeteria at Legacy Elementary School. Tickets are available for $40.00 per person. All tickets must be purchased prior to the day of the event. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact the Superintendent’s Office at 904-259-0404 or 904-259-0428. Proceeds from this event will go toward student scholarships.
-
The Baker County Education Foundation was recently awarded a $10,000 grant by the Clay Electric Foundation, Operation Round Up. This grant is a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) grant for students enrolled in a Digital Informational Technology class. Jacob Anderson and Forrest Elledge, both teachers at Baker County Middle School, wrote this grant and will be implementing it throughout this school year.
Clay Electric implemented Operation Round Up in 2016. The program “rounds up” each participating member’s bill to the nearest dollar, and that tax-deductible amount goes directly to the Clay Electric Foundation. The Baker County Education Foundation and Baker County Middle School thank Clay Electric for their support to our students and community. Their efforts provide financial assistance which helps improve the quality of life in our schools and community.
Congratulations to Baker County Middle School on this outstanding award.
-
Okefenoke Rural Electric Foundation, Inc.
The Baker County Education Foundation was recently awarded a $2500 grant by the Okefenoke Rural Electric Foundation, Inc. This grant will enable the Baker County High School Interact Club to fund and implement three service projects for the Baker County Council on Aging. They will purchase Chromebooks for the center for the residents to use and will provide training on how to use these computers. This training will include looking things up on the internet and learning how to send emails. We will also be able to purchase supplies for art and craft days, which are held once a week. Students from the Interact Club will volunteer their time to assist the senior citizens in learning to paint on canvas on three of these days. In their third project they will make 30 Christmas baskets for the seniors.
The assistance of organizations like the Okefenoke Rural Electric Foundation, Inc. enables this school district to accomplish far more than it otherwise could have. The Baker County Education Foundation and the Baker County High School, thank Okefenoke Rural Electric Foundation, Inc. for their support to our students and community.
Congratulations to Baker County High School on this outstanding award.
-
BAKER COUNTY EDUCATION FOUNDATION
2023-24 ANNUAL REPORTThe Baker County Education Foundation had another great year in 2023-24! The Foundation provided $42,251.00 for student scholarships, $2,500.00 for prior graduate scholarships, $23,341.81 in grants for teachers and schools, and $263,475.07 for special projects. A total of $331,567.88 was awarded in 2023-24.
During the last 35 years, the Foundation, a non-profit organization, has funded 949 student scholarships, 210 employee and/or prior graduate scholarships, 572 grants for teachers and schools, and 65 special projects, totaling $1,980,093.40. A tremendous amount of this was made possible through payroll deduction by school employees.
The Baker County Education Foundation was originally founded in 1989 with school district employees being the original contributors through payroll deductions. Payroll contributions remains the main source of funding for the Foundation. The number of employees contributing to the Foundation has grown each year with a total of 286 employees contributing during the 2023-2024 year and giving a total of $17,596.00. The generosity of our school employees throughout the district, which includes instructional, non-instructional, and administrative personnel, has enabled our Foundation to be a great success in our community.
The main goal of the Baker County Education Foundation is to promote quality education. Through the years, a number of organizations, business partners, individual donors and families have participated in helping the Foundation achieve these goals. The Foundation is very proud of the accomplishments it has achieved through their support and financial contributions.
If you are a contributor, we hope that you will continue your support of the Foundation. If you are not involved, please consider becoming a member this year. You will be supporting the development of our greatest assets, our children. Also, the Foundation benefits from the purchase of specialty education vehicle tags. A portion of the tag sale is returned to the Foundation.
Again, we thank all of our supporters of the Baker County Education Foundation. We contribute our success to the commitment that each of you have given to our organization. Our employees have made us what we are today!
REMEMBER, YOUR CONTRIBUTION IS TAX DEDUCTIBLE!
Promoting Educational Partnerships Between The Home, The School, and The Community
-
Take Stock in Children (TSIC) provides tuition scholarships to attend Florida Gateway College for selected eighth graders whose families meet the income guidelines for free or reduced lunch. Students must reside in the county where they are applying. Student applications are provided to eighth grade students around April of each year.
Students receiving scholarships must agree to:
Stay off drugs
Stay crime free
Maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average
Maintain good citizenship both in and out of school
Meet with their assigned Mentor each week at school
Attend and participate in TSIC events, as required
To learn more about this scholarship opportunity or how to become a Mentor, please visit http://www.takestockinchildren.org.
-
The Baker County Education Foundation, Inc. is a member of the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations (CFEF). This organization provides support through matching grant funding.
-
For every educational specialty license plate purchased in Baker County, the Baker County Education Foundation, Inc. receives $20 from the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles.
