Investing in Community Education
The Elmbrook Education Foundation supports the students at all 11 of the District's public schools through its Continuing Education Scholarship, Innovation Grant and Super Grant Programs. In addition, the Foundation has established an endowment held by the Waukesha County Community Foundation to provide a source of permanent support for Foundation programs. For more information, please refer to the Foundation's web site.
2010-11 Honorariums for Elmbrook Staff, Retirees and Alumni - Updated
The Elmbrook Education Foundation provides many different options to honor staff/retirees and help Elmbrook at the same time. Staff/retiree honorariums are a great way to thank your student's teacher for a great year, honor a retirement, and/or recognize a students graduation.
Staff/Retiree Honorariums
The Elmbrook Education Foundation (EEF) has received honorariums for the following staff members:
- Pam Kania: 4th grade teacher at Swanson Elementary
- Margo Blomquist: Guidance Counselor at Wisconsin Hills Middle School
- Stephanie Cieciwa: Special Education teacher at Wisconsin Hills Middle School
- Susan Buban, Grade 1, Swanson Elementary
- Sherri Michalowski, Social Studies Teacher, WHMS
- Betsy McGinn, Media Technology Teacher, WHMS
Honorariums have also been received to honor the following retirees for their contributions during their careers in Elmbrook:
- Anne Kreul, Principal, Swanson El. (1994-2011)
- Cindy Graettinger, 3rd Grade Teacher, Swanson El. (1975-2011)
- Susan Thaney, 1st Grade Teacher, Swanson El. (1970-2011)
- Cheryl Lavender, Music, Swanson El. (1986-2011)
- Linda Polulach, Instructional Resource Teacher, Swanson El. (1969-2011)
- Kerry Saver, Special Education, Swanson El. (1984-2011)
* a full list of retiring staff can be found on the related press release on the Elmbrook web site.
In addition, the following honorariums have been made in memory of retired Administrators who passed away this past year:
- Irven Hoesly Memorial Fund – PPMS Principal 1958-1985
- Landis Knutson Memorial Fund – Elementary Administrator 1955-1988
- William Polley Memorial Fund – BCHS Teacher 1955-1983
Pictured on right: Greg Wolfe (Elmbrook Nature Center Coordinator) is presented with a plaque in memory of William Polley for William's role in the acquisition of the Elmbrook Nature Center in the early 80's. Picture compliments of Babboni Photography.
Elmbrook Staff Leads the Way Fund
Staff honorariums are commonly applied to the Foundations ‘Elmbrook Staff Leads the Way’ fund within the Foundation’s permanent endowment. They are often made to recognize a retirement or honor a staff member that has made a significant impact on a specific student or within Elmbrook as a whole. A gift to this fund provides a long lasting way to recognize the staff that have helped to build and sustain the quality of the Elmbrook School District.
Honorees are notified of the gift. Both the donor and the honoree are included in an endowment display at CAO which will be converted to a permanent display once the endowment reaches stated goals. The building principal and Elmbrook’s HR department are notified of all honorariums so that staff members can also be acknowledged within their school and peer communities.
Staff and retiree donations to the EEF are also often directed to this fund as a more permanent way to support Elmbrook Education Foundation programs on behalf of the students of Elmbrook.
Brookfield Central or Brookfield East Alumni Funds
Staff may also be honored through gifts to the Brookfield Central or Brookfield East Alumni funds also held within the Foundation’s permanent endowment. Families of graduating seniors have the opportunity to make a donation to an alumni fund on behalf of their graduating senior but may also honor a staff member that has made a significant impact on their student during their time in Elmbrook. In this case, the donor, the graduating senior, and the staff member being honored are included in the endowment display. These funds also provide an opportunity for Elmbrook alumni to be part of the legacy of Elmbrook through a directed gift to their school’s alumni fund in their name or as a collective gift on behalf of their graduating class.
EEF Administered Lancer-Spartan Scholarship Funds
Prior Elmbrook students and staff have also been honored with the development of an EEF Lancer-Spartan scholarship fund. For example:
- Jim Briscoe Honorary (BCHS Principal, 1996-2002)
- Charles Turner Honorary (BCHS Phy Ed Teacher/Coach, 1965-2003)
- Irven Hoesly Memorial (PPMS Principal, 1958-1985)
- Jacqueline Craig Memorial (BCHS Guidance Counselor, 1971-2001)
- Daniel Neuens Memorial (BEHS, Class of 1965)
- Nadine Stoklos Memorial (BCHS, Class of 1972)
- Lisa Brower Memorial (BEHS, Class of 1996)
- Holly Christina Stahl Memorial (BCHS, Class of 2009)
An EEF Lancer-Spartan Scholarship fund can either be set up as a restricted fund where the balance of the fund is used to fund a scholarship (or two) until the funds run out OR as a permanent fund where the scholarship is funded off of the proceeds of the fund and the principal fund balance always stays intact. Funds, as well as the scholarships paid from them, are named on behalf of the honoree. Scholarship criteria are set by the donor.
The EEF receives the most applications of any community based scholarship program making it easy to find just the right recipient for each scholarship. The EEF works with the High School guidance department and gleans information from community nominations as well as scholarship applications for this purpose. EEF Lancer-Spartan Scholarship recipients are first announced at Senior Honor/Recognition Nights in May and again at graduation.
Legacy Circle
Often individuals choose to make a bequest to those organizations they have been involved with and/or had special meaning for them during their lifetime. The EEF Legacy Circle includes those that have indicated that they have included a bequest to the Elmbrook Education Foundation in their will.
- Bernadette (Bunny) Koenings, BCHS/BEHS Guidance, 1955-1982
- Christine Hedstrom, Asst. Superintendent of HR, 2005-2011
The Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization; consequently, all donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. The Foundation can accept donations via stock transfer if desired. Many companies provide gift matching programs that can double the impact of a gift made to the Foundation.
Those interested in finding out more information about how to make a directed donation to honor an Elmbrook student/alumni, staff member or retiree can contact the Foundation at elmbrookeducationfoundation@gmail.com or refer to the Foundation's web site.
