Making an Impact

Celebrating excellence among our educators through AEF’s Impact Awards

Pre-pandemic Impact 2020 cycle brought Amazon John to ACS in 2022! After waiting 2 long years, Anderson Elementary's Impact Grant award came to life in 2022 with the arrival of Amazon John and his Indianapolis Zoo friends. Amazon John visited each grade level at Anderson Elementary and said of science:

"Science isn't about being right or wrong; it's about being curious."

Impact Grants 2022

AEF’s Grants Committee issued 3 Impact Awards on April 8th, mental health as well as literacy support for the 2022 Impact Grant cycle. Each of the following winning grant proposals meets all the rubric criterion of the Impact grant program: (Presentation, Innovation, Need/Benefit, Scope, Length of Benefit, Proposed budget)

“Effective Early Finishers” – Alexandra Miller, Project Leader

The goal in Effective Early Finishers’ implementation is to provide an early finisher station which addresses both behavioral mitigation strategies as well as promote choice-based learning, self-sufficiency, creativity, and self-confidence. Students have different ability levels and finishing early for some students means idle time and the potential for disruptive behaviors. Creating an incentive which rewards efficiency and positive behaviors provides an enhanced opportunity to explore and create outside the lesson. Each early finisher station will be different on a weekly basis because the skill needed for each art lesson changes. 1,183 students at two schools will utilize the stations.

Materials will be used for multiple years.

Award - $4,990.64

“Promoting Positive Behaviors and Academic Growth through Student-based Activities” 

-Bronson Curtis, Project Leader

Provide an area for students that is supplied with materials based on their interests and can be utilized by all staff as a way to help reward students for positive behaviors and/or academic achievements. The program would impact all students in the school of Edgewood Elementary.

Award – $1993.08

“Reading is Elementary” – Sharon Buchanon, Project Leader

The project “Reading is Elementary will help provide resources and current research-based reading strategies for the educators to facilitate their collaboration. Students will benefit from the educators’ collaboration by being able to reflect upon best practices, data analysis and strategies to assist with improving direct and explicit reading instruction. All students in grades K and 1 at Anderson Elementary will be involved. Educators in the 2022-2023 school year in grades K and 1 across the district will be encouraged to participate in the collaboration process.

Award - $5000

Congratulations to our Impact award recipients and thank you to ALL ACS staff who submitted proposals!

AEF Celebrates Top 20 seniors of AHS’ Class of 2022

AEF is also proud to celebrate alongside ACS, the Top 20 students with the highest grade point averages of Anderson High School's Class of 2022! Our annual banquet is to be held May 10^th, at the high school and we encourage all alumni to give back to their alma mater by showing your support and sponsoring their Top 20 Banquet.

Here are our Top 20 seniors, in alphabetical order:

Megan Ashcraft

Quinlyn Byrd

Desiree' Dravenstott

Madison Emigh

Samuel Eskew

Dalton Greer

Akilah Gutherie

Elizabeth Hahn

Hannah Knost

Jordan Patterson

Zaida Robertson

Lillian Scott

Avery Sisson

Amiya Swink

Elias Waymire

Koral Wheeler

Gavin Wilson

Ricky Wong



AEF partners with Madison County Community Foundation through the Opportunity Fund to address unmet and unseen needs of ACS students

AEF recognizes that as a foundation, we help play a role in providing a small amount of resources to help negate some of the external stressors on both teachers and students of ACS, and our small (but mighty) foundation doesn’t have the capacity to tackle all the big problems that are standing in the way of teacher retainment and students’ educational attainment, but with the help of the Madison County Community Foundation, we can try to address what our students and teachers tell us they need. One such need, and an example of just how necessary this type of fund is to students, is a single Opportunity Fund request: ACS nurses requested and we awarded just under $1,000.00 to purchase undergarments for ACS students. In examining the hierarchy of needs, this tells the story of students and their families who are struggling and how educators and staff are trying hard to help with very little outside support.  We encourage ACS educators and students to request aid for material and fee expenses directly our Opportunity Fund at aef@acsc.net

Despite all our efforts, we know many students are still swimming upstream, and so are teachers everywhere. We know our community is at a crossroads, which is both daunting and presents an opportunity to advocate that our community keep listening, to keep talking to one another, to keep problem-solving through disagreements, and when it comes decision-making, to let the needs of the students and this generation of learners be our compass. 

ACS Alumni Connection

AEF is proud to launch the ACS Alumni Connection Facebook page, where ACS Alumni can find their peers and stay updated on news and events, in real time.

Be sure to like, share and follow ACS Alumni Connection on Facebook!

AEF's Golf 4 Grants 2022 is right around the corner! Sign your team up, sponsor and be a part of supporting the students and educators of ACS! Please get in touch with Aimee West at aef@acsc.net to request a team sign up and sponsorship form!

ACS Accolades

In our quarterly newsletters, we'd like to begin recognizing ACS staff, students and leaders for going above and beyond.

The Herald Bulletin named Anderson Community Schools’ Tenth Street Elementary School teacher Susan Daoust as the 2022 Best of Madison County Educator of the Year and our very own Board President and Community Hospital Nurse, Jessica Carson-Bannon, Best Frontline Healthcare Provider

Mrs. Daoust and Jessica Carson-Bannon, Congratulations!

The work of AEF's Jean Poole was also celebrated in the Herald Bulletin, ACS' School Board's Dr. Pat Hill and Holly Renz received an award from the Indiana School Board Association for their excellent governance and leadership!

If you see an unsung hero of ACS and want to give them some accolades, please be in touch with Aimee West at aef@acsc.net

How can you help AEF help ACS, today?

AEF Vice Chair, Candy Short-Dunkin encourages Anderson to “stay involved with the schools. Show support for them in our community. Congratulate them when you hear they received grants, were featured in the newspaper, participated in contests, and just for what they do every day to build good citizens. Like our Facebook page. Visit our website. Donate to one of our great programs: Classroom Closet, Teacher Grants, Scholarships, Top Twenty Seniors or our Alumni Hall of Fame.”

David Dodd, CEO of Madison County Federal Credit Union and AEF Board of Directors shares “sometimes it's not easy to know how to help our teachers. Our organization is able to talk to teachers to find out what's needed for not only the basics, but what they need to teach in different ways. We can combine your contribution with the contributions of others to make a bigger difference where the rubber meets the road...in the classroom.”

Yes, you and your organization can sponsor events and causes which raise money for your school system: Please reach out to me, Aimee West at aef@acsc.net if you are in the position to sponsor or donate back to ACS through ACS’ Top 20 or our ACS Hall of Fame celebrations.

Thank you to our 2022 sponsors: Community Hospital Anderson, Ed Martin, and Abel & Dunkin, our ACS administrators, educators, families and to so many more individuals and volunteers who make ACS a better place for students and our community!