Avondale Elementary School receives grant to update media center
FILE PHOTOS: The Avondale Elementary School Education Foundation was created in 2016 by parents, community members and the school principal. The foundation had a mural on the school building and has continued to raise money for various projects and improvements at the school Photo submitted by Stephen Smith.
Avondale Estates, GA — Avondale Elementary School has received a $50,000 grant from the SNAVE Foundation. The grant will be used to improve the school’s media center and library, including new furniture, books and e-books.
The money will help complete the media center makeover that began last years with the replacement of carpet that was funded by the Georgia Credit Union, and new paint provided by volunteers, according to a press release from the Avondale Elementary School Education Foundation.
Avondale Elementary Media Specialist Donna Jones envisions a modern, inspiring media center with bright colors and comfortable seating.
“Having new furniture in our media center will make it a more inviting space for students and inspire them to want to read and learn,” Jones said in the press release. “Making over our media center is our way of communicating to our students that reading is important and a part of everything we do at Avondale Elementary School.”
The Avondale Elementary School Foundation received the grant through an anonymous community member with ties to the Massachusetts-based SNAVE Foundation. The grant is the largest cash gift the foundation has received since it was established in 2016.
“We are so proud of the incredible learning opportunities and wonderful environment we are able to provide students at Avondale Elementary School,” Principal Dontae Andrews said in the press release. “We have an amazing, committed staff, involved families and community members, and the resources we need to prepare students for our global society.”
Stephen Smith, chair of the Avondale Elementary School Foundation, said the grant will ensure that students will have a wide variety of books and a comfortable place to read.
“We talk a lot about STEM, but we know we cannot provide a top-notch education without lots of books and a modern library,” Smith said in the release. “It’s an honor to work alongside the staff at Avondale Elementary School to provide the resources and opportunities students and families deserve.”
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