Shawnee Mission Education Foundation

We make grants to the Shawnee Mission School District USD 512 in collaboration with district curriculum leaders to fund program enhancements and growth. Examples include district programs in the arts, early childhood education and STEM. Excellence in Education grants fund individual classroom or districtwide projects to enhance innovative learning in the classroom. A new partnership with Dolly Partons Imagination Library brings age-appropriate books free to any child residing within the border of the District each month from birth to age 5. In the first year of the program more than 26,000 books were provided to future Shawnee Mission students. We host Leadership Shawnee Mission, an intensive, 2-week leadership program for incoming juniors and seniors which includes leadership training and professional experiences. We also partner with the District to engage students in Real World Learning experiences by making connections with partners in business and industry to offer students internships, client connected projects and entrepreneurial experiences.

Community Outreach - The Foundation provided more than 38,000 in funding for direct emergency assistance to more than 78 students families for expenses such as housing, utilities, transportation, and medical expenses. In addition, the Foundation funded programs to engage the community and promote innovative education in Shawnee Mission schools.

Scholarship Programs - We award scholarships to students and graduates in the District. In the year ended June 30, 2023, scholarships were made to four graduating students from three scholarship funds designated for post-secondary education. In addition, fees were paid for five current 11th grade students for summer enrichment programs on a college campus. Our Scholarship Shawnee Mission program brought scholarship opportunities to all district 11th and 12th grade students. More than 45 colleges and universities offered Shawnee Mission students more than 2.7 billion in scholarship offers.