Endowment

Dividends from the Portola Valley Schools Foundation’s Endowment Fund support twice-yearly grant requests from District teachers, staff and administrators who want to try new and innovative ways of teaching.  Grants from the endowment fund cross all grades and the entire student body. Some examples of past grants include Project Based Learning modules that encourage teamwork, gaga ball pits to engage kids during recess and lunch, school plays and musicals, new equipment for the popular Maker Labs on both campuses, garden and robotics clubs, equipment to support new Science curriculum, improvements to the beloved Kindergarten chicken coops and more.

Endowment grant projects are reviewed on an annual basis to ensure results are aligned with expectations, and in some cases pilot programs have been rolled out on a wider basis. The Endowment enables our teachers and district to experiment with ways to improve education in Portola Valley without sacrificing ongoing work.

Goals of the Endowment

• Foster Excellence in Teaching. 
  Recruiting, developing and retaining the best possible educators
• Augment the Core Curriculum.
  Applying technology and innovation to teaching math, science and language arts
• Promote a Balanced Education.
  Stimulating a passion for learning by supporting efforts to maintain a broad curriculum