View All News

Meemic Foundation Donates $10,000 to Illinois District Program



Oswego, Ill. — At a recent Community Unit School District 308 Board of Education Meeting, The Meemic Foundation for the Future of Education presented a $10,000 check to the district to support expansion of its AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program.

Meemic’s $10,000 sponsorship of AVID will help fund expansion of the program for the 2016-17 school year, according to Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Sparlin. District 308 will add four additional AVID sites this coming year. In total there will be seven sites in District 308’s elementary schools, four in its junior high schools, and one in each of its two high schools.

“We are very grateful for the generous donation from the Meemic Foundation. Ensuring that all of our students are college and career ready by the time they graduate is our top priority,” said Sparlin.

In total last year, 127 district teachers and staff members were involved with the AVID program, 62 at the elementary level and 65 at the secondary school level. During the 2015-16 school year, a total of 2,436 students (2,200 elementary, 110 junior high, and 126 high school) were served, and the cost of continuing site licenses to run the program exceeded $39,000.

As part of School District 308’s ongoing work to establish partnerships in support of education, the Teaching and Learning Department met this past spring with representatives from the Meemic Foundation. Over the course of the next few months, the Meemic team met several times with representatives from the Teaching and Learning Department and the district’s grants coordinator to learn more about how the AVID program is helping to close the achievement gap by preparing all students for success in a global society.

“Meemic representatives have been very excited about how we are integrating AVID as a key professional development component across the district. They attended our AVID open house and were very impressed with our students,” said Associate Superintendent and AVID District Director Dr. Judith Minor.

In addition to receiving recognition for its generous gift in written and digital publications and at district functions, Meemic will be invited to participate, when appropriate, in AVID-related functions as well as in discussions with other school districts and with state and national AVID representatives.

In June, District 308 sent more than 100 educators via bus to Minneapolis for training at AVID’s Summer Institute. Meemic generously donated knapsacks filled with “travel goodies” for these Minneapolis-bound educators to enjoy. Meemic has also been instrumental in providing grants to support the work of individual District 308 teachers.


Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Sparlin (from left), Board of Education (BOE) member Jared Ploger, BOE Secretary Lauri Doyle, BOE President Matt Bauman, Meemic Sales Manager Dan Gallivan, Meemic Agent Lori Ayala, Associate Superintendent Dr. Judith Minor, Meemic Field Consultant Andrew Briick, BOE member Dr. Mike McDowell and BOE member Danielle Paul