PORTSMOUTH — Classroom visits by authors, flexible seating for “wiggly” kids and e-readers and iPads can go far in enhancing learning opportunities for young students. Unfortunately, projects and devices like those are not usually covered in the normal school budget.

That’s where the Portsmouth Public Education Foundation (PPEF) comes in. The nonprofit was formed in 2001 to enhance the quality of public school students’ educational experiences by raising money for school projects not otherwise possible due to tight pursestrings.

“The problem is the town has a very limited budget for programs,” said Ken Brockway, a board member and past president of PPEF. “We ask teachers if there’s a way where they can sneak in some creative things that are more fun for the kids between the other things they have to do as part of the curriculum.”

The group has recently experienced an influx of youth and new ideas that has it reenergized and focused on the future.

“The age has gone down and the enthusiasm has gone up — and the success has gone up as well. They’re just not afraid; they are full speed ahead,” said Mr. Brockway.

Over the past four years, the Foundation has given close to $100,000 to support creative programs initiated by local teachers at all four schools. This year alone, more than $22,000 in grants were awarded to teachers who had applied for them. Grant awards were announced at the annual teacher orientation in August. 

“We really try to make sure that what we’re funding isn’t your typical school responsibility,” said Jennifer Conheeny, 44, a six-year member of PPEF who now serves as board president. 

Ms. Conheeny is a teacher in Newport who has three children in the Portsmouth schools. She also owns The Children’s School, a Montessori school on East Main Road. She was introduced to PPEF by a founding member, George Easley, a neighbor and landlord at the Montessori school. 

“He thought they needed some younger blood,” said Ms. Conheeny. “When I joined the board they were all my senior by at least 15 or so years. The majority of our current board has some type of educational background or additional connection to the school beyond their child just attending. I think it provides an opportunity for us to give back to all schools, not just being a member of the PTO and supporting their own school.”

“Most of the board members have kids in the Portsmouth school system. They’re seeing the result of where the money is going,” added Mr. Brockway. 

Another member who fits that bill is board secretary Keri Brandariz, 47, a four-year member of PPEF. She teaches in Middletown and has two children in the Portsmouth schools.

Ms. Brandariz said it’s rewarding to see the fruits of PPEF’s labor, which ranges from the purchase of lab coats for fifth-grade science students to educational programming aboard the Oliver Hazard Perry ship.

“We helped pay for that,” she said.

Mr. Brockway said the two women are emblematic of the re-charged board, which uses social media as a powerful tool in fund-raising efforts. The Foundation used to host local kitchen tours as its primary fund-raiser, but things really took off with this new board, which is younger and primarily made up of women, he said.

A Fall Social started up several years ago at Carnegie Abbey and then held at the Newport Car Museum last year. Guests enjoyed a tour of the museum, open bar, hors d'oeuvres, dessert, and a live and silent auction. 

Just a week and a half before the event, however, only half of the tickets had been sold. “Our goal was 200 people and about 100 RSVP’d,” said Mr. Brockway. 

But the women on the board hit the phones and got on social media to sell the other tickets in no time, he said.

“You’re talking $100 a ticket,” he said, noting more than $20,000 is typically raised at these parties, compared to the $10,000 or so from the kitchen tours. “It’s the modern age of technology being integrated in the old ways of making money. I’ve been in the fund-raising business for 60 years and I was in a state of shock to see how they did it.”

No big deal, said Ms. Conheeny and Ms. Brandariz, who are fully plugged into Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and know how the reap the benefits from each platform.

Furthermore, their kind is just not used to sitting still.

“We’re all part of this overextended generation where we do way beyond what should be typically be done in a day,” said Ms. Conheeny. “This group is overextended and has a commitment to bettering their community, raising money for their schools, and helping teachers enhance the education of Portsmouth students.”

What they’re asking for

The supplemental educational programs for which teachers seek PPEF funding run the gamut: extra technology support, a drumming program, yoga mats — even chickens at Hathaway School.

“Casey Farm (in Saunderstown) comes in and the incubator stays,” explained Ms. Conheeny. “They hatch eggs at Hathaway in the first grade during the spring and they have Chick Night, where the families come in and feed the chicks. The chicks hatch and they go back to the farm, and the children have a field trip there to see a working farm.”

One of most popular requests lately are flexible seating for “wiggly” kids to help them concentrate better in class. 

“The traditional desks and tables are not really the best environment for all learners, so they’re looking at wobbly chairs and beanbags,” she said.

Most of the latest grants have been awarded at the elementary level, Ms. Conheeny said. “It seems like those are the teachers who are asking the most,” she said. “Also, (their) principals encourage the staff to ask us. They think of us as a resource when something cooler and innovative comes up.”

In addition to the main grants that are awarded at the beginning of each school year, PPEF has for the past two years offered “mini-grants” for teachers who realize certain classroom needs until mid-year.

“In February and January we open this up,” said Ms. Conheeny. “They’re small grants capped at $500 and we do a really quick turnaround.”

Splash of color

PPEF does most of its work outside the public's eye, said Mr. Brockway. “They seem to operate under the radar without the community knowing this generation is giving back,” he said.

Slowly but surely, though, the organization is becoming more of a household name through its fund-raising events. The fall fund-raiser has typically been set aside for adults, but over the past three years PPEF has been hosting either a nighttime “glow run” or a daytime “color run” in the spring.

“I feel PPEF now has more of a name in the community,” said Ms. Conheeny.

For more information about the Portsmouth Public Education Foundation, visit https://portsmoutheducationfoundation.org.