Author: gloucestereducationfoundation

GEF Kicks Off the School Year with $293,000 for GPS!

~ gloucestereducationfoundation

GEF is starting the 2026-27 school year with a big investment in Gloucester students and educators: $293,000 in funding for seven programs across Gloucester Public Schools.

This is possible because of the tremendous generosity of the Gloucester community, which continues to step up for our schools. Every gift to GEF, from individual donations to business support to foundation grants, helps create opportunities for Gloucester students. The $293,000 awarded at the start of September will support:

  • O’Maley Academy: $30,000
  • Grades 4-8 Band: $30,000, with another $30,000 coming in January
  • GHS Medical Assisting: $64,000
  • K-8 STEM Coordinator: $100,000
  • O’Maley Science Central Wilson Intern: $5,000
  • GHS Engineering Lab: $50,000
  • Gender Equity in STEM Club: $14,000

Together, these programs expand opportunities for Gloucester students in music, STEM, career and technical education, enrichment and more, across grades K-12.

And this is just the start!

GEF’s competitive grant program gives GPS educators the opportunity to bring forward new ideas, creative approaches and promising pilots for their students. Grants will be awarded in November, February and May this school year, and we’re making sure educators across the district know how GEF can help turn their ideas into reality with colorful new teachers’ lounge posters and detailed instructions on how to apply, delivered to every GPS staff member’s mailbox over the past two weeks.

To everyone who donates to GEF, sponsors an event, supports a campaign, or helps spread the word: thank you. Your generosity is what makes investments like this possible, and what allows GEF to keep expanding opportunities for Gloucester students year after year.

Some juicy news from GEF!

~ gloucestereducationfoundation

Two great updates from the Gloucester Education Foundation on this rainy Wednesday afternoon:

1) We’ve surpassed the $1M mark in our $3M O’Maley Courtyard Capital Campaign, thanks to leadership gifts from Maggie and Joe Rosa, Linzee Coolidge, Cape Ann Savings Bank, Institution for Savings, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (we appreciate your advocacy, State Senator Bruce Tarr and Representative Dru Tarr!), as well as donations from dozens of individual GEF donors. Learn more here.

2) We have secured $350,000 to support the first years of GHS’s new Medical Assisting program, thanks to the visionary JMR Barker Foundation – whose philanthropic support in turn inspired Cape Ann couple Jeff Silveira (a GPS alum!) and Beth Logan to recently pledge $100,000! Learn more here.

These are exciting milestones for GPS students, staff, and families, as well as GEF’s staff, board and partners. We’re so thankful for this community’s commitment to and investment in Gloucester’s young people!

GEF Welcomes New Board Members and Development Manager

~ gloucestereducationfoundation

The Gloucester Education Foundation (GEF) has welcomed three new members to its Board of Directors and hired a Development Manager as the organization enters its third decade of expanding opportunities for Gloucester students.

Joining the GEF Board as of July 1 are Jeremy McKeen, Sara Seber, and Norah Wylie. Laura Irwin joined the staff in May as Development Manager.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jeremy, Sara, Norah, and Laura to GEF,” said Executive Director Emily Siegel. “Each brings deep experience, strong community connections, and a genuine commitment to public education. Their leadership will be especially valuable as GEF continues supporting innovative programs across the Gloucester Public Schools while advancing the transformational O’Maley Courtyard project.”

Jeremy is a longtime English teacher, writer, and father of three children in the Gloucester Public Schools. He recently completed a term on the Gloucester School Committee and has been involved in community organizations and traditions including the Horribles Parade Committee. During his 25-year career in education, he has served as a coach, union representative, chess club advisor, class advisor, and writing instructor. He is also a published author, editor, and columnist.

Sara is a real estate advisor with Engel & Völkers By the Sea and lives in Lanesville with her daughter, a Plum Cove Elementary School student. Her background includes nonprofit development, event and project management, and community organizing. She has worked with organizations including Backyard Growers, Massachusetts Farm to School, the Cape Ann YMCA, and the Sawyer Free Library. She brings to GEF a strong network of local relationships and a passion for building connections among families and community organizations.

Norah is a retired attorney with decades of experience in education law and public education advocacy. Her career included representing children and families in special education and disability accommodation matters, working on school safety and education issues as an assistant attorney general, and serving for 20 years as Associate Dean for Students at Boston College Law School. She previously served on the Newton School Committee, the Newton Schools Foundation board, and local PTO leadership. She moved to Gloucester full-time four years ago, after owning a home here for 17 years.

As GEF’s new Development Manager, Laura brings more than a decade of experience in nonprofit fundraising, donor relations, grant management, and philanthropic operations. Her previous roles include positions with the Essex County Community Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, FamilyAid Boston, and the Kaiser Permanente Center for Gun Violence Research and Education. At GEF, Laura will help lead annual fundraising, donor stewardship, prospect development, and fundraising systems while supporting the organization’s $3 million capital campaign to renovate the O’Maley Middle School courtyard.

GEF also extends its deep gratitude to outgoing board member Matt Beach, whose term ended on June 30. A longtime supporter of the organization, Matt has been a thoughtful advocate for Gloucester students and helped strengthen GEF’s relationship with Applied Materials, a major supporter of GEF and STEM opportunities for Gloucester students. We look forward to continued collaboration with him in the future!

Learn more about our team here!

GEF’s FY26 Impact Report, “Let Sparks Fly!”, is here!

~ gloucestereducationfoundation

Jun 9

The Gloucester Education Foundation (GEF) is thrilled to share our FY2026 Impact Report with the community! It celebrates 20 years of GEF, from the early days to today, with a focus on what your support made possible this year, including:

  • launching the GHS Medical Assisting program and O’Maley Courtyard project;
  • piloting a Drone Operator Course and LEGO science kits; and
  • sustaining beloved programs like band, theater, and O’Maley Academy.

We’re especially impressed with that incredible cover photo by GHS sophomore Shane Widtfeldt, taken in the GHS Auto Shop. Literal sparks were flying as fellow sophomore Sam Watts did some welding!

We hope you enjoy the report, and that it inspires you to support our Spring Appeal. Every gift will help fund programs in Gloucester Schools next fall: programs educators dream up, students adore, and families count on.

Thank you!

GEF visits new GHS Medical Assisting Program!

~ gloucestereducationfoundation

This morning the Gloucester Education Foundation took a group of supporters to see the new Gloucester High School Medical Assisting program, led by teacher Grace Ferrara and Vocational Coordinator Brenda Waslick with support from three students.

One of the visitors, a Nurse Practitioner at Addison Gilbert, sent us this message right after: “Grace and the program are incredible!! It’s truly fantastic; she has thought of everything. I came back to work and was telling some staff and one person immediately said “I wish they had that when I was at GHS!””

Music to our ears!

Thank you to Grace, Brenda and the students for the tour, to all of the visitors who came to see the program, and especially to Jim and Chris Barker of the JMR Barker Foundation for their advocacy and significant financial support for this new vocational track.

Here’s some additional information about the program from GEF’s upcoming FY26 Impact Report, out next week!

PK-5 Student Art Show up at Sawyer Free Library!

~ gloucestereducationfoundation

As part of the Gloucester Education Foundation and Gloucester Public Schools’ 2026 “Spring into the Arts”, preschool and K-5 artwork is now on display at the Sawyer Free Library. The work will be up in the Matz Gallery and on the second floor through May 14, when the public is invited to a reception from 5-7pm at the library. On May 15, middle and high school work will go up in the Matz Gallery and be on display until May 29. Don’t miss this special exhibition of Gloucester student artists and their creativity, skill, and imagination! Kudos to GPS arts teachers and their partners for the spectacular work they have helped students create this school year.

The Power of Play 2026 Activity Schedule is here!

~ gloucestereducationfoundation

Join the Gloucester Education Foundation and a team of incredible community partners and volunteers for Power of Play on March 22 at the GHS Field House. The event is FREE, open to all ages, and runs from 11am-2pm. More info here!

Thank you to Lead Sponsor Cape Ann Savings Bank and sponsors Sawyer Free Library, Medeiros General Construction, and Seashore Comfort Solutions for their generous support for Power of Play!