Utica Community Schools
Foundation for Educational Excellence

7600 18 Mile Road
Sterling Heights, MI 48314
Telephone: 586.797.6953
Fax: 586.797.6901

The Utica Community Schools Foundation for Educational Excellence was created in 1986 to raise additional funds to provide meaningful educational experiences for students not otherwise funded by the school district. The Foundation is a non-profit organization governed by a Board of Trustees comprised of area business and community leaders. The Foundation is funded through membership, donations, fundraisers and memorials, contributing significantly to classroom programs over the past 16 years.

The Utica Community Schools Foundation for Educational Excellence serves the Utica Community Schools by sponsoring programs of outstanding educational worth that cannot be provided through the school district's budget. The Foundation forges partnerships with corporations, local businesses, community leaders and citizens to raise money to accomplish its goals.

The organization’s mission statement will guide activities on a day-to-day basis…

Mission Statement:

The Mission of the Utica Community Schools Foundation for Educational Excellence is to be a non-profit fund-raising organization that encourages and supports quality efforts by educators to enhance educational experiences for students of the Utica Community Schools.

The organization’s vision statement describes the organization if all goals could be met…

Vision Statement:

To be a financial resource that positively impacts the educational experience of every student in the Utica Community Schools.

UCS Foundation Board of Trustees

The UCS Foundation for Educational Excellence is directed by the Board of Trustees, a group of volunteers comprised of business and community leaders:

Ron Chriss, President
Steve Messina, Immediate Past President
Brent Bohlinger, Vice President
Chelsie Bemis, Secretary
Wally Doebler, Treasurer/Historian
Ronald Tavernit, Executive Director

Paul Alandt, Trustee
Deanna Bethuy, Trustee
Frank Blowers, Trustee
Linda Colton, Trustee
Neal Cooley, Trustee
Les Gilbert, Trustee
Claudia Jeannette, Trustee
Gene Klida, Trustee
Raymond Lope, Trustee
Carol Roncelli, Trustee
David Roncelli, Trustee
Dan Wesner, Trustee
Roy Rose, Trustee

Christine M. Johns, Ed.D., Superintendent
Ex-Officio Member

Members of UCSF Advisory Board:

Dick Duncan
Fred Mathiak
John Nitz
Nancy Stoneking
Ray Weingartz
W. B. Browning
Wally Doebler

UCS Foundation Special Events

Arts and Idols Gala

UCS Foundation for Educational Excellence is looking for singing idols to compete in the second Annual Arts & Idols Gala to be held on Thursday May 20, 2010. The proceeds from this event benefit the Utica Community Schools Scholarship Fund. There are cash prizes for all finalists including a $5000 first place prize!

Auditions for the event will be held on December 29, 2009 from 2:00pm-8:00pm at the Palazzo Grande Banquet & Event Center, 54660 Van Dyke in Shelby Township. For more information visit www.artsandidols.com, call the UCS foundation at (586) 797-6953 or download the flyer by clicking on the link below.

Arts & Idols 2010 Wanted Flyer

Career Focus

Join us at the annual Career Focus Luncheon set for Wednesday/Thursday May 5 and May 6, 2010 at Penna’s of Sterling Heights.

For nearly 20 years, this increasingly “must attend” event has impacted the lives of literally thousands of young adults. As a participant, you will share your professional expertise with a table of sixth graders from the Utica Community Schools. In turn, these students, on the brink of adulthood, will talk to their role models for a day about their hopes and aspirations.

The event is co-sponsored by the UCS Foundation for Educational Excellence, the Advisor & Source Newspapers and the Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the Utica Community Schools. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Foundation's work on behalf of students.

Since its establishment in 1986, the Foundation has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for students in the Utica Community Schools. Its Instructional Grant program offers unique educational experiences to support regular classroom programming. Scholarships provide students funds for college and technical school training. Summer literacy programs for elementary school students and after-school academic support for secondary students help them achieve.

This outstanding annual event, sponsored each May by the Foundation, gives district sixth graders an opportunity to explore potential opportunities by meeting and speaking with business and community leaders from around the area. Proceeds from the luncheon go to classroom educational grants throughout the district, meaning that this event not only enriches the career goals of 2,100 sixth grade students every year but also adds to educational development for the rest of the students in the district. Since its inception, more than 20,000 students have participated in this activity.

So, come for lunch and conversation. Stay for what will be an interesting and informative keynote address. Leave with the knowledge you have made a difference in the life of a child.

For the opportunity of a lifetime, participate in the next Career Focus Luncheon, scheduled for Wednesday/Thursday May 5 and May 6, 2010, at Penna’s of Sterling Heights. For pricing and availability, call the Foundation at 586.797.6953

We thank our generous sponsors!

You can increase your support by acting as a Career Focus Sponsor to help offset expenses for the Career Focus Luncheon. Your generosity allows the Foundation to dedicate even more dollars to projects and programs that support students and teachers in the Utica Community Schools.

Premier Sponsor - $10,000

Corporate Sponsors - $1,000 or more

Annual Golf Outing

The Foundation holds an annual golf outing to raise funds to benefit the students of the Utica Community Schools. Information about this year's event will be posted here when available.

Grants & Scholarships

Since its inception, the UCS Foundation for Educational Excellence has supported public education through its Instructional Grants programs. Teachers are encouraged to apply for grants of up to $500 to fund unique classroom experiences for their students that would not otherwise be possible. Still, our requests outpace our ability to provide them. Won’t you provide a Gift for Children by making a tax-deductible contribution?

Career Technical Education (CTE) Scholarships offer CTE seniors at all four district high schools $500 scholarships to provide post-graduation education and training in a variety of occupations.

Special Needs Scholarships offer special needs students scholarships to provide post-graduation education and training.

Won't you help? Consider donating to the grants and scholarship funds. Call 586.797.6953

A Gift for Children

Four of the most powerful words in any language -- a gift for children -- can be made even more meaningful through a contribution to the Utica Community Schools Foundation for Educational Excellence.

Honor others by contributing to the Foundation. Remember the Foundation when planning birthdays, celebrating the birth of a child, an anniversary or other special occasion. Your donation can also commemorate a friend or loved one. Your gift will support district students in ways ranging from Classroom Instructiional grants for educational enrichment to post high-school scholarships, elementary musical rental, academic support for at-risk students or the endowment fund.

For more information, call the Foundation at 586.797.6953

Century Club

The Century Club is comprised of individuals and corporations which make a tax-deductible donation to offset Foundation operating costs in order to allow more of the Foundation's general budget to directly benefit students.

In 1996, nearly 100 individuals and businesses pledged to help make a difference in the life of a child by supporting our efforts to keep the Foundation's resources where they belong - in the classroom and through scholarship efforts.

For more information about this worthwhile organization, please contact the Foundation at 586.797.6953. There are no meetings, there are no dues other than your Century Club membership. What you'll receive in return is the gratitude of more than 29,000 students of the Utica Community Schools!