PEOPLE
Q&A with a Georgetown ISD stakeholder
2022 EDUCATION EDITION
Ty Denney Executive director of the Georgetown ISD Education Foundation
BY HUNTER TERRELL
Ty Denney became the executive director for the Georgetown ISD Education Foundation in April. The organization— which works to provide nancial support to the district in an e ort to innovate and create academic opportunities—has donated more than $500,000 to GISD since 2015. In an email interview with Community Impact Newspaper , he discussed his role, the passion foundation members share and the initiatives the organization is working on. The following responses have been edited for length, style and clarity.
INVESTING IN EDUCATION
HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH THE EDUCATION FOUNDATION? I have a bachelor’s degree in business and have served in vari- ous roles over the past 28 years in nonpro ts and charities. I’ve always had a passion for creating opportu- nities for young people. So, when we moved to Georgetown last year, the Georgetown Education Foundation was a perfect place to serve our community. WHAT ARE YOUR RESPON SIBILITIES AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR? Executive directors of nonpro ts are the janitor and the CEO. My core responsibilities are to ensure we accomplish our mission, build awareness in our community, raise the necessary funds and oversee the day-to-day operations of the foundation. HOW DOES THE FOUNDATION RAISE FUNDS? We have generous individuals, foundations, businesses and other groups that get behind our mission. We have a few di erent events throughout the year, the biggest being 50 Fellas Foodfest, which is on Oct. 22 this year.
WHO DECIDES WHAT PROJECTS THE FOUNDATION WILL SUPPORT? Our biggest program that we are committed to [is] our Teacher Innovation Grants, and that has a board committee that decides amongst the di erent applicants which ones to fund. These grants fund various projects, and this past spring we gave over $34,000 to programs like Mitchell Elementary’s Reading for Success program, GISD’s Youth Drone Technology program and the Benold Middle School’s Award Winning Exploration Book Club. All of our other initiatives are made collaboratively by our board of directors. WHAT ARE SOME ONGOING INITIATIVES? In addition to the teacher grants, we have committed long term to various programs: Hammerlun Leadership Academy, Seaperch —our innovative underwater robotics program, the cosmetology program and we give new teachers to GISD a welcome gift every year. We also help host GISD’s convoca- tion and community showcase and fund our annual teacher awards ceremony.
HOW DO YOU HOPE THE FOUNDATION WILL GROW IN THE COMING YEARS? We want Georgetown to be a great place to raise a family and to fully support our public school system. With the growth that is happening in our community, the opportunities seem limitless, so our desire is to grow along with the community to ensure tremendous opportunities for tomorrow’s leaders. In regards to nancial support to GISD, we hope to scale our growth to be raising $1 million per year ve years from now. HOW WILL THE $450,000 AND 2 ACRE LAND DONATION FROM THE VILLAGE HOA HELP THE FOUNDATION GROW? The gift [from] the Village HOA was a game changer for us and put us in a position to dream about our future possibilities. It allows us to con dently strategize about the coming years, and that is a tremen- dous blessing. We have already put good stewardship principles in place so that we wisely invest the donation. In regard to the land donation, we are having strategic conversations with GISD about the best usage of that parcel of land.
The Georgetown ISD Education Foundation nancially supports innovation, customized academic opportunities and individual success for all students. MISSION The foundation supports several innovative and educational e orts at a district level as well as at individual campuses. ONGOING INITIATIVES
AWARD WINNING EXPLORATION BOOK CLUB 1.
Reading for Success at Mitchell Elementary helps students with learning disabilities become successful readers. 3. READING FOR SUCCESS This program at Carver Elementary School provides Heggerty products that help students with phonological awareness. 2. DECODABLE READING The foundation provides eighth grade students at Benold Middle School with Newbery Award books.
4.
YOUTH DRONE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM
Georgetown ISD is the rst district in Texas to have a drone class and club. Funding will support the students’ drone licenses.
SOURCES: TY DENNEY, GEORGETOWN ISD EDUCATION FOUNDATION COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
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GEORGETOWN EDITION • AUGUST 2022
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