ABILENE – Earlier this week, the Abilene Education Foundation continued its long-standing tradition of giving back to local teachers with a financial gift to first-year teachers in the Abilene ISD.
The grant providing the funds is named in memory of long-time teacher Judy Dudley. Grant funds are for additional classroom materials to enhance those provided by the school district and are funded by the Martha Scott Carlson Endowed Fund for AEF GIFT Grants (held at the Community Foundation of Abilene), Mike Dudley, Pat Dudley and several retired teachers. Ms. Carlson, a former teacher, gave the first donation for the GIFT Grants in 2008.
Monday marks the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year for teachers new to Abilene ISD. Four days of back-to-school information will be disbursed to teachers. There are approximately 49 first-year teachers (new to the profession) included in this first group. The AEF will provide “brand new” teachers with a check for $150 to help offset the cost of setting up a classroom. The AEF has been providing grants to assist new teachers for 11 years.
