We are the Chagrin Falls Educational Foundation
Our mission: Providing funds to initiate the transformation of ideas into impactful educational experiences within the Chagrin Falls School district.
We support all teachers and families to pursue ‘what else?’ and ‘what if?’ We provide the tools, connections, and innovations that can take students to places they’ve only imagined. The chance to impact the future is here.
Recent grants have:
Established the Middle School Innovation Center through the generosity of our donors. The Center includes a collaboration space and a makerspace with 3D printers, embroidery machines, laser cutters, tools, and more. More than 12,000 student visited the space in its first year.
Created the Intermediate School Maker Space. Gifts to the Innovation Center Campaign allowed for the creation of a new Maker Space for grades 4 – 6, including a makerspace, collaboration area, and finished deck for outdoor experiments – all adjacent to the school’s science classroom.
Expanded STEM learning at Gurney by funding portable STEM packs that tie science to reading and writing through an innovative, teacher-led initiative.
Supported construction of Tiger Perks coffee shop, a pre-vocational job skills training program for students in grades 7-12. This innovative program helps students with disabilities build academic and social skills to prepare them for the workforce.
Funded the 2018 and 2019 7th Grade Regattas. Middle School science teachers worked with other departments on an interdisciplinary unit to promote global awareness. The unit culminated in events using STEM standards through which students researched, designed, and built boats for regattas at the Chagrin Rec.
Supported Teachers of Gifted Students. Twelve teachers in grades 3 – 8 were able to receive their Gifted Endorsement from Ashland University, allowing them to meet the needs of our district’s gifted population.
Strengthened the Writing Program at Gurney. Five teachers for grades K-3 were able to attend the Columbia University Summer Writing Institute. Using what they learned, they implemented new instructional techniques focused on each student’s individual writing needs and worked to help students extend their writing into different genres. The goal: creating confident, fluent writers.
Gurney Garden. Schoolyard garden for students to engage in inquiry-driven, project-based learning across all disciplines.
Between 2016 and 2019, the Chagrin Falls Educational Foundation:
• Provided more than 2,700 volunteer hours through adult and student board members.
• Raised more than $650,000 for Chagrin schools.
• Engaged 200+ donors, including Chagrin Falls residents, parents, and alumni.
• Funded 16 grants for teacher training, digital technology, student experiences, and new academic facilities.
• Grew our institutional endowment by 20% through fundraising and investments.
• Expanded Student Board to include 40 teens who volunteer in our community, raise funds, and provide grants using the money they have raised – creating the next generation of philanthropists.