Salem-Keizer Public Schools recognizes a Business Partner of the Month as one of our Spotlight on Success awards at monthly school board meetings. The award is presented by the superintendent and her executive cabinet to recognize outstanding contributions to our school district.
Business Partnerships
Church on the Hill | May 2012
Church on the Hill created a mentor program with Kennedy Elementary. Over 70 mentors work one hour per week with an individual student. The teachers at Kennedy report that students with these mentors have better attendance, increased class participation, and improved academic achievement.
In addition to providing mentors, COTH members volunteer regularly at Kennedy activities like the school carnival, Dr. Seuss Night, summer clean up, and have collaborated with other businesses to provide soccer goals on the playground.
They provide academic support for students, support teachers with optimism and compassion, and exhibit confidence, friendship and kindness to Kennedy families.
Terry Gallagher, Principal at Kennedy reports that COTH has flooded us with volunteers and they work alongside staff, parents and other partners to form important relationships with our school.
They have already volunteered to assist the staff this June in packing up the school in preparation for summer bond work here. Staff at Kennedy Elementary feel truly blessed to have Church on the Hill as a partner.
Thank you for your continued support and generosity to our students, our schools and the community.
Congratulations!
Salem Leadership Council | April 2012
Our Community Partner of the Month of April is the Salem Leadership Foundation (pictured above). They were nominated by Grant Community School.
Grant Community School wants them to know how thankful they are for all that the Salem Leadership Foundation does for their students, the school and their community.
Salem Leadership Foundation has been a partner with the School District since its founding in 1996. One of the reasons SLF was established was to help churches partner better with neighborhood schools.
The Foundation’s staff and strategic plan are organized around the six high-school feeder areas of Salem-Keizer. The goal is to help kids, families and neighborhoods thrive, Partnerships between schools and churches is a key strategy. Today there are more than 35 churches in productive partnerships with neighborhood schools.
SLF's partnerships started with Grant, Highland, Parrish and North through the work of Sam Skillern, who covers North Salem.
The first partnership was with Grant Community School and Salem Alliance Church in the fall of 1996 on a program called "Fantastic Fridays." That experimental program started a community movement through which many partners now bring after-school programming to more than half of Salem-Keizer's schools.
In addition, the Salem Leadership Foundation has donated funds for 10 guitars for Grant’s guitar class, funds to extend the Grant School Learning Garden, support for the neighborhood health Fair, and provide leadership to parents and community members on how to access and engage schools.
The second partnership was with Highland School for Reading Buddies in fall of 1997. That program is still going strong today, with 25-30 volunteers reading on Thursday mornings with 50 first- and second-graders.
In the McKay area Carrie Maheu (may-hew) has connections with all of the schools, with a recent focus on Swegle, Washington, and Waldo through the Fostering Hope initiative.
In West Salem, Herm Boes has been a key part of the "Dream Center" partnership that West Salem Foursquare started at Walker Middle School, and now includes multiple programs and partners across West Salem.
In South Salem, DJ Vincent is the after-school coordinator at Leslie Middle School where he wears two hats: Salem Leadership Foundation and the Salem Keizer Education Foundation. He is also active in promoting partnerships at Morningside Elementary and other south-end schools.
Sam is also instrumental in bringing faith leaders together on a quarterly basis to meet with Superintendent Husk to discuss these community opportunities.
Thank you for your continued support and generosity to our students, our schools and the community.
Congratulations!
Roth's on Lancaster | March 2012
Pictured from left: Principal Clinton Gertenrich, accepting on behalf of Roth's, and Chairperson Kimball.
Our Business Partner of the Month for March is Roth’s on Lancaster. Robert Coronado, is the Store Manager. The store was nominated by Patty Bermudes, Office Manager at Auburn Elementary.
Patty wrote that Roth’s has helped them out numerous times. Most recently, they donated 650 cupcakes to Auburn on Valentine’s Day. They have contributed funds for their Carnival events and cookies for the Dr. Seuss Night and Parent Tea Party. Roth’s also has supported the school with donations for various events, and afterschool and Parent Club activities.
Englewood Elementary staff noted how much they appreciated the donation of gift cards and food for their Family Fun Night that Roth’s has provided to their school.
Swegle Elementary staff shared that Roth’s on Lancaster has been an outstanding business partners to them. They also received over 600 cupcakes on Valentine’s Day. In addition, Roth’s recently donated a couple of cakes for the Cat in the Hat event at the school.
Hoover Elementary staff contributed to the accolades by saying how great Roth’s has been to their school. Roth’s has helped with kindergarten graduation refreshments, parent education night dinners and ice cream parties.
Thank you for your continued support and generosity to our schools and the students of Salem-Keizer School District.
Congratulations!
Salem Electric | February 2012
Pictured from left: Terry Kelly, assistant general manager for Salem Electric and Salem-Keizer School Board Chairperson Rick Kimball.
We would like to recognize Salem Electric as our Business Partner of the Month. Assistant General Manager Terry Kelly was on hand to accept the honor.
Salem Electric has been a long standing business partner to Chapman Hill and Walker Middle School. For many years they have made presentations to students at Brush College on electricity conservation and safety.
Energy conservation and the environment are important aspects of Salem Electric’s mission. They have provided educational opportunities for students at West Salem High School with a wind generator that was installed at the school. Power output is monitored through a website and teachers are developing a renewable energy curriculum.
Salem Electric has donated folders, calculators, pencils and other school supplies to our West Salem schools. They have contributed funds for the sports court at Walker and for books for the Oregon Battle of the Books program. Salem Electric had provided funding for refreshment for school activities, funding for transportation costs for the 5th grade graduation party and for a wheelchair for the health room at Chapman Hill. Salem Electric provides college scholarships to college bound youth.
Salem Electric’s staff has gone into schools to help. They donate their time every year to hang art throughout the school for the Art Night at Chapman Hill. Terry himself has volunteered in many capacities, from helping at Walker on registration days, to serving on the District’s boundary committee for the opening of the new schools in West Salem.
Salem Electric has been very generous to the district and our schools. Our students have and continue to benefit from this partnership.
Thank you for your support.
Congratulations!
Salem Association of Realtors | January 2012
We would like to recognize the Salem Association of Realtors as our Business Partner of the Month. Cindy Peck and Debbie McMillan were on hand to accept the award. Cindy is the Special Event Committee Chair for the Association and Debbie is on their Community Fund Board of Directors.
For the past 22 years the the Salem Association of Realtors has been hosting a holiday event for underprivileged and/or homeless students. The district’s homeless program provided a list of students, who received permission from their parents to participate, to the the Salem Association of Realtors. Volunteers, from the association, shopped and wrapped presents for students on the list. The event usually hosts more than 150 children, and this year 160 students participated.
The students gathered on Saturday, December 10, at the Paulus building where they caught buses, provided by Dayspring Fellowship. The Unity of Salem Church provided bus drivers who transported the students to Salem Evangelical Church for the event.
Business, community and church members volunteered at the event to welcome the students and engage them in hands-on activities, games and food. Each student was also provided with $50 in gifts. After the more than two hour event, the students, with gifts in-hand, were safely returned to the Paulus building where they were met by their parents or guardians.
The Salem Association of Realtors’ interest and generosity is thoroughly appreciated by the students and staff at Salem-Keizer schools.
Thank you for your support.
Congratulations!
EZ Orchards Farm Market | December 2011
EZ Orchards Farm Market is our December Business Partner of the Month. Tim Davenport, Child Development Specialist at Yoshikai Elementary nominated them for this award. John Zielinski is here tonight to accept the award.
EZ Orchards has been very generous to students and staff at several of our schools. A few examples of what some of our schools had to say:
Yoshikai – EZ Orchards have been consistently considerate and provide on-going support to the school. In October, not only did they donate healthy snacks in the form of apples to over 470 kids during the Jog-a-thon, the kindergarten classes much appreciated their experience at EZ Orchards’ pumpkin patch.
Weddle – Their kindergarten classes participated in a field trip to EZ Orchards in October. This has become an annual event for Weddle because the staff at EZ Orchards makes the visit fun, educational and filling (with apple cider donuts).
Swegle – EZ Orchards gave free apples, as well as reasonably priced pumpkins to the school for their harvest activity. Mr. Zielinski was really nice and very generous.
Hazel Green – Mr. Zielinski has been a generous business partner over the years. The annual Harvestfest trip to EZ Orchards has been great fun for the students, including riding hay wagons, roundtrip, from the school to EZ Orchards. As the students celebrated the area harvest, the students enjoyed apples and caramel dip that EZ Orchards provided. Mr. Zielinski’s generosity is quite often “behind the scenes” and Hazel Green feels very fortunate to have had such a caring business partner.
EZ Orchards’ interest, dedication and generosity have been thoroughly appreciated by the students and staff in Salem-Keizer schools.
Thank you for your support.
Congratulations!
Salem Vineyard Church | November 2011
Pictured from left: Principal Susan Adams, Myers Elementary; Jori Xavier and Associate Pastor Don Amon, Salem Vineyard Church; and Salem-Keizer School Board Chairperson Rick Kimball.
Our November Community Partner of the Month is Salem Vineyard Church.
Salem Vineyard Church was nominated by April Edwards, counselor at Myers and Harritt. The church has been partnering with Myers Elementary for approximately four years.
They help the students with school supplies and back packs. The church members work as mentors and volunteer in classrooms, and help with the annual field day.
The church has extended their help to the Myers school community by providing families with resources to help pay bills and getting groceries. During the November and December holidays, the church provides meals for all of Myer’s needy families. Church members help the school’s counselor with the giving tree. They help buy gifts, and then take the time to deliver the gifts and the meals to the families’ homes.
Every year on October 31st, they put on an October fall festival that is free for Myers’ families and community. The whole church membership volunteers for the evening to provide candy and snacks for the kids and their families.
And it’s not just the students and their families that they help out. The church maintains the front of Myers school with flowers, laying bark and weeding. Many times throughout the school year, they will provide staff with breakfast and coffee, or may feed all staff at lunch time.
Myers school staff feels very grateful for the generosity of Salem Vineyard Church.
Thank you for your continuing support of our students and schools.
Congratulations!
Bosie Packing | October 2011
Pictured from left: Connie Perkins, School Board Chairperson Rick Kimball and Morningside Principal Bonney Dietrich.
Our Business Partner of the Month is Boise Packaging. Accepting the award was Senior Designer Connie Perkins.
Boise Packaging has been partnering with Morningside Elementary for more than 15 years. Morningside’s main contact at Boise is Jannell Johnston, who was unable to attend.
Through the generosity of Boise and the diligent work by Jannell, the Morningside school community has been the recipient of many wonderful donations.
To name a few, Boise Packaging has given hygiene kits for students, turkeys to needy families, contributed to the giving tree at holiday time and has provided school supplies for those in need. Employees from this business have also mentored students in the classroom. Boise, through Jannell, has worked with the school counselor to help needy students and their families.
A recent donation from Boise touched most every one of our elementary schools.
A few years ago a teacher from Morningside contacted Jannell with a request for a box that would help organize reading books by levels. The boxes of leveled books made it easier for students to find a book at a level in which they are reading, and encouraged the student to read more. Connie designed and produced a few by hand for Morningside.
When Kalapuya principal Jennifer Neitzel, contacted Boise for boxes for her new school, Boise stepped forward and suggested that other schools might use them too. Kalapuya sent out the message to schools and most every elementary school said yes. Connie went to work and created a cutting die to produce the boxes in mass. Boise Packaging produced and donated 16,678 book boxes.
The boxes will be used in classrooms and media centers throughout the district’s elementary schools.
Thank you for your continuing support of our students and schools.
Maps Credit Union | September 2011
Pictured from left: School Board Rick Chairperson Kimball, Jill Nowacki, Mark Zook and Cori Frauendiener.
Partnerships between schools and businesses became a focus in the 1990s as role models for students became increasingly important to academic success. The need for businesses to step in, with work-based learning experiences, has changed the face of education in our state. As a tribute to their education roots, Maps has demonstrated a long history of responding to the needs of the school district through business partnership activities at all levels of learning, both for the student and the teacher.
Recently, Maps established that they wanted to additionally support Salem-Keizer schools in a way that demonstrates a strong public-private partnership. They also wanted it to be a partnership that would have the greatest impact on the greatest number of students. The credit union donated $50,000 to the school district, which we will use to help fund athletic programs throughout the district. The district believed using the donation in this manner would make the most impact on the whole community.
Thank you, Maps, for your continued support of Salem-Keizer Schools and your community.
COUNTRY Financial | June 2011
Pictured from left: Brush College student Guin Stoessl, COUNTRY Agency Manager Jason Heinz, and Chairperson Kimball.
Our Business Partner of the Month for June is COUNTRY Financial and Agency Manager, Jason Heinz.
COUNTRY Financial partners with our schools in a variety of ways:
- They conduct an annual school supply drive that benefits our students greatly.
- They support South Salem High School DECA students with funding and volunteer to help judge the student presentations. If you remember from last month’s Spotlight presentation, fifty-seven South Salem High School DECA students qualified for Nationals.
- COUNTRY Financial has approximately 75 employees with students in our schools and their employees are often guest speakers at Career Days, talking to students about the insurance and financial services industry, careers and community service.
- They sponsor the COUNTRY Kids Relays event.
On May 14, the COUNTRY Kids Relays took place at Willamette University’s McCullock Stadium. COUNTRY Financial was the presenting sponsor, along with the Optimist Club of Salem, City of Salem Public Works, Department of Parks, and Transportation Services Division. This is the 37 year that the Relays have taken place. More than 3,000 Salem-Keizer first through fifth grade students participated in the Relays. It is a pretty big deal for some of our parents attending as they watch their children run in the same relay race they did while in grade school.
To help kick off the COUNTRY Kids Relays a T-shirt Design contest was held. Guin Stoessl from Brush College took home the top prize for her artwork on the design. Her winning artwork was titled “Together Makes Us Best. “ The drawing showed two boys and two girls holding hands above their heads with a baton and blue ribbons next to a checkered flag.
Her winning T-shirt design earned her school, Brush College, $1,000 and her classmates a pizza party, courtesy of COUNTRY Financial.
According to Jason, it was an exciting way to get the Relays off the starting block. It was the first year the Relay held the design contest and Guin’s design displayed the true essence of the event. Nice job for your winning design!
Thank you COUNTRY Financial for your continuing support of Salem-Keizer Schools and your community.
Congratulations!
Bon Appetit | May 2011
Pictured from left: Bon Appetit kitchen manager, Danny Vasquez and Chairperson Kimball.
Our Business Partner of the Month for May is Bon Appetit. Karla Canida from the district’s Community Transition Programs nominated Bon Appetit and kitchen manager Danny Vasquez for the award.
Bon Appetit has been a great supporter of the Employment Training Program and has been fantastic to work with. They have opened their business up to our students, and make them feel welcome and appreciated for their work. Every Bon Appetit employee has gone the extra step to teach the Community Transition program students skills that they would not have otherwise had the opportunity to learn.
Bush Elementary was assisted just last week at their carnival with food donations from Bon Appetit. They provided food items for over 200 people.
Bon Appetit has also been instrumental in helping the McKinley Parent Teacher Club identify ways to channel the school community’s interest in serving healthier, local and sustainable food to their children. The effort involves a school garden. They assist McKinley in hosting their Farm to Schools dinners featuring local farms and businesses.
Our students, staff and school communities are most thankful for all the support Bon Appetit has provided to them.
Congratulations!
Windermere Pacific West Properties | April 2011
We would like to recognize Windermere Pacific West Properties, local owner Pam McColly, and brokers Cris Brennan and Leona Wyatt, as our Business Partners of the Month. They were nominated by Wright Elementary School for their support to the student, parents, and staff.
As many community resources have dwindled Windermere’s dedication and support to Wright Elementary has been unchanged. When contacted they will do everything they can to meet the need. Over the last couple of years they have donated backpacks with supplies to over 100 students. This resource has made a huge difference for several families and allowed students to start the school year with all the supplies they need.
The Windermere foundation and individual staff members helped adopt several students for holiday gifts. Windermere staff went above and beyond, making sure that each child received not one gift but three and they provided gifts for the parents as well. As many families suffer during these hard economic times, Windermere has offered to help support the students in need of vision exams and glasses and have provided this resource for several families this year.
Windermere has partnered with other Salem-Keizer schools and they, like Wright Elementary, are truly thankful to have the strong support of Windermere Real Estate.
Congratulations
