Lancaster Education
Foundation
2014 Fall Newsletter
AD V AN C ING ED UC AT ION IN T HE SC HO OL DIST RICT OF L ANC AST ER BY PR OMOT ING
AC AD EM IC EXC ELL EN C E
LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dear Friends,
It is my distinct honor to be named the Interim Executive Director of the Lancaster Education Foundation. As member of the McCaskey class of 1978, sixteen years as a faculty member, and as the former AP Coordinator and International Baccalaureate Diploma Coordinator, I bring a wealth of knowledge and experience that will serve the Lancaster
Education Foundation well. It is an exciting time to be joining LEF, as we enter our 25 th year of partnership with the
School District of Lancaster.
The Board of Directors spent last year examining the purpose and future for the LEF. As we go to print, the revised
mission statement remains a draft. “Together the Lancaster Education Foundation and the School District of Lancaster are partners with a diverse and vibrant community seeking to increase support for educational excellence.” With
the budget challenges facing the School District of Lancaster, it is more important than ever for LEF to be a resource
to support educational excellence. As the economy increases in globalization, being good enough is no longer going to
be good enough.
Currently, the foundation administers numerous scholarship funds dedicated to graduates of McCaskey High School.
The foundation also provides mini grants to teachers and supports district level initiatives as grant fiduciary. This
year LEF administered a Communities That Care Grant that helped to strengthen community-wide strategies to promote positive youth development. We are also involved in two federal grants that will provide approximately $1.5
million in scholarships to the students in the classes of 2017 and 2018.
I am pleased to share our Fiscal Year 2013-14 Report to the Community. As you review the following pages, note the
impact our partners have had on the students, teachers and SDoL community. If you are one of those partners, thank
you. If you have not been an active partner to date, please consider joining us as a volunteer, an advocate, or a donor.
Together, we can increase opportunities and contribute to Lancaster’s future.
Paul E. Richer II
Interim Executive Director
About LEF:
LEF is a partner for individuals and businesses who seek to support public
education in the School District of Lancaster. LEF staff and board members work
with our partners to provide powerful learning opportunities for students and
teachers, and to build support for the district in the community. Our impact is
far reaching and student-focused. In the past year, LEF distributed more than
$216,990 in grant and scholarship funds. LEF also served as a strategic partner
with the school district in efforts to sustain community schools and
provide dual enrollment opportunities for district students.
Page 1
SDoL Graduate Takes on the World
Yentli Soto Albrecht is a junior majoring in Molecular
Biology at Princeton University. She is spending this fall 2014
term at the University of Oxford through a Princeton-Oxford
Exchange Program, researching full-time in the Zitzmann Biochemistry lab. Yentli is pictured below with Dr. PietroRoversi,
where she works characterizing the structural proteins of
enzymes thought to play a role in cancer.
While Yentli spent part of her middle school years in
Colombia, South America, she returned to the United States in
2005 to attend Edward Hand Middle School. Yentli graduated
from J.P. McCaskey High School in 2011 with an International
Baccalaureate bilingual diploma, after which she went to Serbia for a year of service work through the Princeton Bridge
Year Program. Yentli hopes to graduate from Princeton University in 2016, with the goal of enrolling in a dual MD/PhD
program. Eventually she would like to participate in medical
research to improve outcomes for cancer patients.
“I’d say that the teachers at McCaskey gave me wings to
fly, but that wouldn’t truly encapsulate the influence McCaskey
had on my life. I didn’t even know I was capable of flying until my
time there. Assignment by assignment, class by class, quarter by
quarter, the teachers at McCaskey built up my courage to take
honors, AP and eventually IB courses; to tap into my desire for
knowledge and question the reality presented to me; to reach for
the stars when planning my future; and to explore all the realms
of intellect and academia, from science to humanities, philosophy
and music.”
~~~Yentli Soto Albrecht
Lancaster Education Foundation plays a role in inspiring students like Yentli through its support of
initiatives not funded by current tax revenues, such
as: enrichment programs, educational field trips,
technology, science and music equipment and the
middle school honors program.
Businesses can support these programs through
the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program,
Individuals can donate to LEF
Adopt an SDoL Classroom
LEF’s Adopt an
SDOL Classroom
program invites
the community
into our classrooms by directly
supporting teachers and students.
By adopting a
classroom, you
provide an opportunity for teachers to purchase
additional resources to enhance his or her
classroom. The end result is a meaningful
contribution to education allowing donors
to personally impact and celebrate a classroom’s success.
Page 2
2013-2014 School Year Results
Venture Grants:
14 Projects funded
4,500 students impacted
19 schools supported
Adopt-a-SDoL Classroom:
45 classrooms adopted
1300 students impacted
19 schools supported
LEF Scholarships:
33 scholarships and awards
21 students impacted
13 unique colleges attended
Other Support to SDoL and its Students:
$18,000 provided for Dual Enrollment
2,374 books distributed with Barnes & Noble Book Drive
Pass through grants in excess of $200,000.
Dual Enrollment in the School District of Lancaster
The Dual Enrollment program provides the opportunity
for high school students to enroll in a local institute of
higher learning and take classes that will earn them both
high school and college credits. LEF Supports dual enrollment by allowing businesses and individuals to underwrite the cost of dual enrollment programs
Last year, McCaskey students attended Dual Enrollment
programs. 14 students were supported by donations to
LEF. If you would like to help LEF make college a reality
for more students, contact Paul Richer at 717-391-8660.
Dual enrollment is advantageous for high school students
because it allows them to get a head start on their college
careers. In some cases, the student may even be able to
attain an Associate of Arts or equivalent degree shortly
before or after their high school graduation. Also, it may
ease the transition from high school to college, making
college graduation more likely for some.
At McCaskey, students have the opportunity to attend a
full day program at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology or attend part day programs at the following schools:
Harrisburg Area Community College, Millersville University, Penn State – Lancaster Campus, PA College of Art and
Design, Lancaster Bible College and Pennsylvania College
of Health Sciences.
We invite you to
donate to LEF on
November 21, 2014
during the
Extraordinary Give.
For more Information
please visit
extragive.org
or call (717)391-8660.
Join in by giving to the Lancaster Education Foundation. Your annual contribution aids the Lancaster
Education Foundation’s mission to support teaching excellence and
student learning in the School District of Lancaster.
- Join the Team- $100
Please contact Paul Richer to discuss the impact
- Classroom Supporter- $250
you could have on students and teachers in SDoL
- School Sustainer- $1,000
at 717-391-8660 or
- District Benefactor- $2,500
[email protected]
- Other: ____________________
⁭ I’m an Alum! ⁭ I’m a parent! ⁭ I’m a community supporter!
Name:________________________________________________
Address:_____________________________________________
Email Address:______________________________________
Phone Number:_____________________________________
Page 3
Please detach and mail to:
Paul E. Richer II
Lancaster Education Foundation
445 North Reservoir Street
Lancaster, PA 17602
Page 4
2014 Report to the Community
Partnering with the
School District
of Lancaster
to Increase and Support
Educational Excellence
since 1989
Lancaster Education Foundation
445 N. Reservoir Street
Lancaster, PA 17602
LEF Board of Directors:
Stacie Molnar-Main, President
Kay Brady, Vice President
William Brown, Treasurer
Barbara Boben
Norman Bristol Colon
Ruth Ecklin
Adam Hawk
Barry Kornhouser
Scott Kuhn
Joyce Nolt
Marcy Radcliffe
Pedro Rivera
Candace Roper
B. David Smith
Thomas Waters