Reading Circles and Direct Instruction Reading
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Quicklinks
- Click here to donate on-line
- Click here to learn about shopping that benefits Casa Esperanza Montessori
- Donating to the Media & Technology Program
Annual Fund
Casa is more than just a school. It is a wonderful community of generous and caring parent and community volunteers who partner with enthusiastic and inspiring faculty and administrators--all for the benefit of our children. As a result, Casa children have a solid school community foundation on which to build their future.
Preschool tuition and public funding only covers 88 percent of the operating cost of our School. In order to continue to support the top-quality education and programs Casa offers, the Annual Fund is essential. The 2010-2011 Annual Fund is designated to raise funds will be used primarily to support the academic mission of the school. Our teachers and our classrooms need our support.
We understand and appreciate the commitment that you have made to Casa. Your generosity and gifts of service are key to the well-being and success of this school community. We urge you to consider supporting Casa and its mission by giving to the 2010-2011 Annual Fund. Thank you in advance for your willingness to share your time, talents, and treasure with Casa Esperanza Montessori.
Click here to read answers to Annual Fund FAQs.
Why Donate?
As a not-for-profit school, Casa Esperanza raises funds and accepts donations independently of what it receives from preschool tuition and the State of North Carolina to defray the costs for programs not funded by the state.
We raise money to support efforts that directly enrich our student experiences. Some of these efforts include:
- sponsoring Montessori teacher training
- matching funds for United Arts Council grants to pay for visiting artists, storytellers, performers, and authors to come to Casa each year
- supporting our two-year old Media Center
- enhancing the equipment in our Technology Program.
- researching, planning, and opening our Middle Grades program in Fall 2010
Why is 100% participation by Casa Families so important?
In order to qualify for matching grants, many corporations and foundations require that 100% of school families donate money to the school before the organization will consider contributing. There are numerous grants available for schools like ours that would greatly benefit our children. Therefore, every single tax-deductible contribution counts no matter how big or small.
What Support Do we Get from Public Funds and Preschool Tuition?
In 2000, a group of dedicated individuals acted upon their vision of making quality Montessori education available in a public school setting. These individuals had a firm belief in the teaching methods of Maria Montessori and a strong desire to serve the growing need for bilingual education in North Carolina. This was the basis for the 2002 Charter grant that Casa Esperanza received from the State of North Carolina to begin our school community.
Experience shows, however, that it is not possible to operate the school and keep that vision solely on the funding we receive from Federal, State, County, and preschool tuition sources. Preschool students pay exactly the same tuition as we receive for charter students. Charter schools receive, on average, $1200 less in per pupil funding than would a district-supported school educating the same student.
This is primarily because of what is commonly referred to as the “building gap” for Charter Schools. Although we receive per-pupil funding similarly to a Wake County School, we do not receive a building to house the school. This means that almost 20% of our entire operating budget goes to paying the rent on our school building. Money spent on rent is money not spent on music and art programs, teacher training or classroom supplies (it takes almost $20,000 to equip a single classroom with Montessori materials). Recruitment, retention, and mentoring high-quality teachers is of paramount importance for the success of Casa Esperanza. All of these activities require significant funding to maintain their current programming level .
How Do We Help Ourselves?
Casa Esperanza pursues a number of avenues to augment the budget. Some of these include:
- Operating private programs (preschool, before and after school care)
- Grant writing
- Parent Faculty Association (PFA) fund raising (book fairs, fun fairs, school pictures, silent auction, SCRIP)
- Special project fund raising (playground climber, Touch Tank, raffle)
- Student-led businesses (Upper Elementary Holiday Cards, walk-a-thon, poetry coffee house, recycling) to fund field trips
- Annual Fund requests from community members (Casa families, extended family members, faculty, board members, and members of the business community)
On-line Donations
There are a number of ways you can donate monetarily to Casa Esperanza Montessori Charter School.
One of the easiest and quickest is to click on our on-line donation buttons below.
Monetary donations to Casa Esperanza are tax-deductible.
| 2010-2011 General Fund |
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Donations to the general fund go to support general operating costs. |
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| 2010-2011 Annual Fund |
Donations to the annual fund will support:
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Donating via Shopping
Casa Esperanza Montessori benefits financially when you shop locally, go on-line to specific vendors, or collect box tops! Please visit these websites. Once you sign up, CEMCS will receive a percentage of your on-line purchases.
You can collect box tops from participating General Mills products and earn money for CEMCS. Please go to their website to see how easy it is!
