2018 Investments
In 2018, the Travis Foundation was able to invest over $34,000 in teacher professional development, playground improvements and student enrichment:
We invested $25,000 in teacher and staff professional development. Most notably, we were able to host noted author and speaker Greg Tang (https://gregtangmath.com/gigs) (at Ms. Gonzales's recommendation) for a Travis-dedicated session in August.
We invested just under $7,000 in Da Camera Music Encounters (https://www.dacamera.com/learn/educational-programs/da-camera-music-encounters/) and classroom books for all grade levels from the Scholastic Book Fair.
We made initial (Phase 1) playground investments of $2,000 to address immediate safety needs.
2019 Outlook
For 2019, we expect continued pressure on the school budget. In the month of January, we approved investment of up to $42,000 to close unexpected personnel gaps for the Spring semester. We've also committed $22,000 to ensure that every 5th grader can attend the Outdoor Education Center at Camp Olympia, a highly impactful experience that was defunded by HISD in 2018.
2019 will also bring us into Phase 2 of our commitment for reSpark of the Travis playground.