Our Vision
To be the premier non-profit organization supporting education in the Maple Heights City School District.
Mission
To provide supplemental funding for educational programs and initiatives to further enrich student learning through teacher grants and post-secondary student scholarships.
Maple Education Foundation History
The Maple Education Foundation began with the creation of the Maple Heights Alumni Association. In 2008, Maple High School Educator Dale Walter (1969 alum) proposed starting an alumni group to the School Board and to Superintendent Dr. Charles Keenan. After some discussion, Dale began to work to receive donations for the project. After a few months, he had raised the funds to create an alumni website with the hope of getting one thousand alumni in the group in the first ten to twelve months. The goal was reached in less than three months, and is now over 3,300 and growing!
Since the Alumni Association was a success, Dale then met with Board President Lori Chick to discuss the possibilities of creating an Education Foundation for the Maple Heights District. Research began on what to do and both Lori and Dale went to a workshop in Dallas, Texas. When they returned, the project of creating the Foundation was given to Dale who then reached out to fellow alumni and former students to help. Warren Doblar (1946), Dr. Carol Cunningham (1978), Lisa Krecek Gradert (1980), Jim Caporuscio (1984), Jack DiMatteo (1980) and Heather Gyekenyesi (1991) all agreed to help and provided the initial expenses to get the project off the ground.
In 2009, the Maple Education Foundation was created and approved as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. Dale Walter was selected as the first Executive Director and began to raise funds to provide scholarships and teacher grants to improve the education of all Maple Heights students.
In summer of 2017, Mike Mazurkiewicz (1999) was selected as the new Executive Director. Dale stepped down as Director when he moved to San Diego, but remains on the Foundation Board. The Foundation continues to build and grow, adding more alumni and people that wish to help Maple Heights students.
Goals of the Maple Education Foundation:
- To provide financial resources for programs and initiatives that align with the Maple Heights School District’s Vision and Mission.
- To encourage academic excellence.
- To promote awareness in education and the Foundation.
- To ensure the perpetuity of the Foundation and the endowment fund
Board Members
Dale Walter
RICHARD TROJANSKI
DR. LORA PHILLIPS
DR. CAROL CUNNINGHAM
HEATHER GYEKENYESI
MIKE MAZURKIEWICZ
SUSAN JAROSCAK
LOUIS RAFFIS
