LAPS Foundation Executive Director Jenny McCumber presents information about the foundation’s mission and activities during the Aug. 6 meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos. Courtesy/Kiwanis

From BROOKE DAVIS
Kiwanis Club

Los Alamos Public Schools (LAPS) Foundation Executive Director Jenny McCumber presented information about the foundation’s mission and activities at the Aug. 6 meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos.

The foundation works on several grant cycles to fund professional development for teachers, new ideas for classrooms, local seminars and mentors for new teachers. They also provide mini grants such as the Shower with Love program that has each teacher provide a wish list of classroom supplies that are then sent out as donation requests for to the community. McCumber said that the organization has a goal to provide a mini grant for classroom help to every teacher in the district.

Scholarships to students are provided annually by the foundation. This year, 21 scholarships were given to graduating high school seniors. Student involvement is a key element of their operations and they accomplish this by including student board members and grant applications for student-initiated projects.

The foundation is working on streamlining funding, expanding support to schools and pursuing opportunities for career technical education.

The community can support these efforts through donations, attending fundraising events, and word of mouth to help the LAPS Foundation be the place where community empowers public education.