Derby Education Foundation Board
The DEF board recently posed for a picture with our new logo.
Spring 2025 Classroom Grants
Congratulations to the following teachers: Delaney McWilliams, Park Hill Kindergarten; Zach Haynes, DMS PE; Molly Whitwell, Swaney SPED Life Skills; Paula Hunter Vanley, Pre-K El Paso.
Paver Dedication Ceremony
September 24th - Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate the installation of our new pavers at Derby High School.
DHS ROTC
DNMS Choir
Welcome Back!!
The DEF would like to welcome everyone to the 2024-25 school year in Derby Public Schools!! We know it is going to be a fantastic year of academic growth and development for Derby students!
USD 260 Support: 2023-24
Check out this list of areas that the DEF supported during the 23/24 school year.
Pickleball Fun!!
We had a blast at our Pickleball Tournament last Saturday!! Thank you to all of those who came and played!! Also, a big shoutout to our tournament sponsors: The Sandbox, Meritrust, WSU Tech, Loyd Group, Vornado, Davis Moore and the Derby Informer. Thanks for helping us raise funds for Derby Public Schools!!
Pickle Ball Tournament
Please join us for the first annual Derby Education Foundation Pickle Ball Tournament on Saturday, March 23rd at The Sandbox in Derby. More information can be found at:
Gary Wilkerson Memorial
Retired Derby elementary school teacher Gary Wilkerson passed away on September 13, 2023. Gary taught in Derby Public Schools 30 years before retiring in 2006. Thank you to all of those that donated to the Derby Education Foundation in honor of Gary’s memory. The DEF will use the memorial funds to help support outstanding educational opportunities for Derby students.
BOE Presentation
DEF Board Chair Janet Sprecker spoke to the Derby BOE yesterday evening about recent DEF activities. Some of the highlights from her talk included discussing the DEF’s fall classroom grants and the DEF sponsorship of the Staff Showcase Awards.
DHS Ever-Fi Grant
The Derby Education Foundation is pleased to once again partner with Citizens Bank of Kansas in supporting financial literacy education at Derby High School. CBK & the DEF are donating $3,000 to renew the Ever-Fi financial literacy subscription for the 2023-24 school year. The DEF would like to thank the Derby Wal-Mart for the $1,000 grant they awarded to the DEF to support this financial literacy program.
Meritrust Donation
Thank you so much to Meritrust Credit Union for their $3,000 donation to support the DEF’s concurrent credit scholarship program! These funds will be used to help DHS students with financial need pay for college credits while taking specific high school classes. The local universities that partner with DHS include Newman University, WSU Tech and Butler County Community College. Here is a quote from a 2022-23 scholarship recipient:
Last year, as a junior, I received a generous scholarship from DEF to use for concurrent credits. I was able to take physics concurrently through DHS and WSU Tech…I was appreciative of this opportunity and personal challenge…Next year, I plan to attend a 4-year college and major in biochemistry. My ultimate goal is to attend medical school…Thank you for this concurrent credit scholarship, and for continually realizing that there are many ways a high school plan of study can look for each individual student. I am hoping I will make Derby and the Derby Education Foundation proud in my future work endeavors.
Thank You Donors!
The DEF Board would like to thank our recent donors Davis Moore Auto Group ($1,000) and the Derby Wal-Mart ($1,000). Davis Moore’s donation helped the DEF increase the amount of support we were able to provide for the USD 260 All-Staff Back-to School event. The Derby Wal-Mart’s donation will allow the DEF to continue our support of financial literacy education at Derby High School. Thank you to these wonderful community donors!!
Wins for Kansas Award
Thank you again to KAKE news and DeVaughn James for the DEF Wins for Kansas award. Here is the link to the video that aired on the 10:00 news last night. https://frankly-vod.akamaized.net/kake/transcoded/0ebfbee8-77ce-44b8-846f-5ff22c480a32/1280x720_0ebfbee8-77ce-44b8-846f-5ff22c480a32.mp4
Happy Summer!!
The DEF Board would like to wish all USD 260 staff and students a wonderful summer!! We look forward to our next round of classroom grants this fall. The fall grant application deadline is September 1st, 2023.
Wins For Kansas
Thank you to DeVaughn James and KAKE News for giving the Derby Education Foundation a Wins For Kansas $500 Award. We had a good time filming the check presentation at the KAKE studio today.
Panther Pride Pavers
Panther Pride Pavers make wonderful graduation gifts for your favorite Derby High School senior! Order yours today! https://www.derbyeducationfoundation.org/pavers
New DEF Board Members
The DEF Board would like to welcome our newest members: Sherry Reed and Reegan Innes. Thank you, Sherry and Reegan, for being willing to serve on the DEF Board!
Thank you to the Derby Board of Education for allowing DEF Board Chair Janet Sprecker to present at your meeting last Monday night. We appreciated the opportunity to update you on DEF recent activities.