A Catalyst for Educational Excellence
“The Foundation stepped up during a time when the School District literally had the rug pulled out from underneath us from a school funding perspective... We would not have been able to add programming to uphold Northville’s long standing Tradition of Excellence during a time of such significant reductions without Northville Educational Foundation’s commitment.”
— Mary Kay Gallagher, Former Superintendent, Northville Public Schools
2023 - 2024 Initiatives
Northville Steam Fair
This year marks our 10th Annual Northville STEAM Fair, a partnership between NEF and Northville Public Schools. This year students’ from K-12 will have the opportunity to participate and feature their projects at the Northville STEAM Fair Community Night
Click here For more information.
Student Financial Assistance
This financial assistance helps students participate fully in the school experience alongside their classmates, ensuring that no student is left behind due to financial constraints.
By offering stipends, NEF enables students to participate in various school activities that might otherwise be financially challenging for their families. Whether it's funding for field trips, class pictures, yearbooks, spirit wear, fees, tickets, or other expenses related to school events, these stipends make a significant difference in students' lives.
i³ NEF Grants - Impact! Innovate! Ignite!
These competitive teaching grants enhance classroom learning through projects that are creative and innovative but require extra funding. This past year we distributed $35,000 to 29 projects across the district.
Mary Kay Gallagher Galileo Leadership Program
In this program, four selected teacher leaders participate in a two-year program focused on the works of leading educational researchers , best practices, and personal action research projects. We are fortunate to have about 30 Galileo teachers in the district.
Parent Camp and Mental Health & Wellness Fair
Through Parent Camp, our goal is to bridge the gap between the classroom and home by giving you tools and resources around topics that relate to your students today.
Past Initiatives
International Baccalaureate
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
The Leader in Me
All six of NPS’ elementary schools are actively engaged in The Leader in Me process, and innovative, school-wide model that empowers students to be leaders. They embody Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Turf for Tom Holzer Ford Football Field
Inspired by a $500,000 family gift from an anonymous donor, the dream to renovate Eight Mile Stadium was born. This incredibly generous gift was followed by a $100,000 gift from the Friends of Northville Parks & Recreation. With $600,000 towards a $1.1 million fundraising goal, NEF worked with the TURF CLUB (a consortium of community members representing numerous Northville area organizations and businesses) to raise the additional $500,000 required to complete Phase I improvements which included installing artificial turf and a new scoreboard.
The Village Workshop
Co-op
From 2016-2019, NEF funded an amazing partnership between Northville Public Schools and the Village Workshop to provide a hands-on, learning opportunity for students at Northville High School in the Engineering and Science departments. Students practiced the engineering process, coming up with an idea for a product, designing it and then creating it using equipment at The Village Workshop. Their work culminated in an End of Year Showcase where students presented their design process and displayed their creations.
Cooke Kitchen
The vocational kitchen at Cooke School was renovated through the help of the Northville Educational Foundation (NEF) and an anonymous donor. Crucial improvements were made helping it modernize its overall educational settings and offerings. This kitchen plays a big role in this school's mission to help its students learn important life skills.
Cooke Playground
Cooke Playground – A ribbon cutting and grand opening took place on August 2, 2012 on a new multisensory, adapted outdoor learning and play area at Cooke School. Cooke is a special education center providing individualized programming for more than 250 Wayne County students with special educational needs. A majority of the funding for the $346,000 project came from an anonymous family who “did it for the kids.” Significant donations in honor of Luc Nguyen, Leah Palo and Brianne Tucker also contributed greatly to the success of the campaign.
Modern Teaching
Most Northville teachers are trained for in-class teaching. While they have had to adapt in this emergency situation, they are not truly trained in remote teaching. Modern Teaching provides access ready-to-use and customizable professional learning modules aligned to district’s goals, needs, and digital tools, empowering teachers with a pathway to create and lead modern learning environments.
mapAccelerator
mapAccelerator was developed as a partnership between NWEA and Khan Academy. It is software that uses the results of students’ NWEA tests to identify weak areas and to create a program to address them through Khan Academy. It provides a differentiated learning experience for students. Teachers can view and monitor students' progress through a dashboard and customize students' "coursework" accordingly. Impacts all students in Grades 3-8, over 3,000 students.
Mystery Science
Mystery Science online learning supplements the regular science curriculum for K-5 students. It provides phenomenon based mysteries that peak the interest of students and build their desire to figure out what’s happening while learning science.
Project Lead The Way (PLTW)
Northville Public Schools have implemented Project Lead the Way courses to enhance the current curriculum for grades 6 - 12. It provides a transformative learning experience by creating an engaging, hands-on classroom environment which empowers students to develop the skills and knowledge they need to thrive in college and career. Costs include durable replacement (robotics kits, scales, sensors, etc.) and consumables (petri dishes, sheep hearts, blood kits, etc.). Classes include: Human Body Systems, Engineering Design & Development, Principles of BioMedical Science, Principles of Engineering, Science of Technology, Medical Detectives and Magic of Electrons. Impacts over 3,000 students.