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Fundraising Progress (as of Dec 2024)

Why give to the Mary Lin Education Foundation?

Mary Lin is one of six schools in APS that does not receive Title 1 funding (federal funds allocated to districts that qualify as disadvantaged). We are fortunate to be in this position, but we still need to fill the sizable gap between the resources we need to reach every student and the budget we are allocated by the district. At non-Title 1 schools, such budget deficits must be filled by parents, relatives and/or the local business community. Historically, our peer non-Title 1 schools were more proactive than us in these efforts, but that changed in 2016 when The Mary Lin Education Foundation (MLEF) started the Rocket Fuel Fund, a traditional "check-writing" style annual fundraising campaign. Since the RFF has raised over $550,000, the majority from Mary Lin Parents, to spend on curriculum enrichment, professional development, enhanced technology and environmental upgrades not covered by the district budget. 

What do the Funds Pay For?

The Rocket Fuel Fund supports excellence in the classroom in a variety of important ways. We plan to allocate 50% of our funds for capital improvement such as for our milestone project, the Habitat, Outdoor Classroom and Learning Garden. The funds also pay for our teachers to have best-in-class professional development opportunities such as training with Kennesaw State to help teachers across all grades build project-based learning (PBL) units, to train our teachers on PBL, and to help advise Mary Lin on grade-level standards and attending the Georgia Department of Education STEM/STEAM Conference. The money pays for the school Lexia subscription, a key adaptive program for all components of literacy for kids K-5, with individual logins for each student. Last but not least, the money raised keeps Mary Lin classrooms up to date by providing the latest classroom tools and safety devices, such as walkie-talkies for school staff. By covering all of the above, a robust foundation allows our administration to spend more on the most important resource - our educators - meaning we have smaller class sizes and excellent staff across the board.