SPPS was blessed to receive $50,000.00 in Grants in the 2022/2023 school year. The Tracy Family Foundation (TFF) steadfastly continues to support Catholic Education in the Tri-State Area. The mission of the TFF is to Advance innovative, collaborative, and sustainable change in communities and cultivate a philanthropic spirit in all generations of the Robert and Dorothy Tracy family.
The first grant secured by the TFF this past year was $30,000.00 for Mrs. Karen Nolte to teach intervention. Our intervention program is championed by Mrs. Nolte, our 2nd grade teacher. Mrs. Nolte creates individualized lesson plans for each child that needs special one-on-one tutoring beyond the standard classroom instruction. Mrs. Nolte meets with each child multiple times a week, individually, to support their educational journey.
The second grant secured by the TFF this past year was a $5,000.00 for a marketing video. With the five thousand dollars SPPS was able to hire the Story Tellers Studios to create three marketing videos. The first video is five minutes long and made for our website, it touches on very important topics for prospective families: academics, security, transportation, faith, and family. The second video is two minutes long and is made for social media, it touches on the same topics in a more condensed manner. The third video is a thirty second commercial which we plan to air on TV this summer! The videos are a unique way to showcase our school, they will be a long lasting marketing tool that we can utilize for years to come. Check out our videos on our Youtube channel, @stspeterpaul https://www.youtube.com/channe...
The third grant we secured by the TFF this past year was $5,000.00 to participate in the Secret Shopper Program by SchoolMint. This program starts with a secret shopper, unknown to the school, who tries to enroll their student at SPPS. The secret shopper took a tour, talked with our teachers, utilized our online resources and met with administration. After doing all of these things, she wrote us a fifty page report on how our enrollment process and online presence could be improved. We are so thankful for the direct feedback to improve our process. We have already started to implement many of the changes they recommended. It is invaluable to get feedback from someone outside of your organization, it can be easy to be blinded by your own love for an institution.
The last grant we received this past school year was $10,000.00 in a marketing grant which was through TFF and Vervocity. Vervocity is a marketing firm out of Quincy, IL who partnered with the Tracy Family Foundation to create a marketing grant for Catholic Schools. Vervocity is helping us create materials for prospective parents, prospective employees, and market the videos we have made online and through TV. We are working with them this summer to utilize their expertise!
Our little Catholic School could not thrive without the help and support of the Tracy Family Foundation. The TFF has committed themselves to bettering education in IL and it is apparent that God is working through them.