About Us

Our Mission

Onalaska Education Foundation (OEF)

  • The OEF is a local, non-profit organization that was established in 1998 to strengthen community participation in Onalaska, WI public and private schools, including Eagle Bluff Elementary, Irving Pertzsch Elementary, Northern Hills Elementary, Onalaska Middle School, Onalaska High School, St. Paul’s Lutheran School, St. Patrick Elementary School, and Luther High School.  

Our Mission

  • The OEF’s mission is to support Onalaska educators in their quest to develop innovative and creative learning opportunities for students, promote the incorporation of emerging technologies within the curriculum, facilitate business and private sector contributions to our schools, provide support for students in need, and encourage outstanding academic achievement among all Onalaska students.

 

Claude Deck Grants The Onalaska Education Foundation’s (OEF) Claude Deck Grants program provides competitive grant funding to Onalaska educators for innovative and creative projects and programs that inspire their students to achieve educational excellence. These amazing programs would not be possible without financial support from the OEF.  More than $21,000 in Claude Deck grant funding was awarded to 23 teachers at six different Onalaska schools in 2024.
Acts of Kindness &
Seasons of Kindness Grants		 The OEF’s Acts of Kindness (AOK) program provides grant funding to ensure that students in need in Onalaska schools have access to essentials like clothing, tennis shoes, winter boots and coats, glasses, bicycle helmets, and toiletries. Funds from this program also pay for sports physicals, eye exams, instrument rental, extra-curricular activities fees, haircuts, bus passes, driver’s education classes, and much more.
An extension of the AOK program, the OEF’s Seasons of Kindness (SOK) program enables school counselors in each Onalaska school to work with educators and other school staff to identify and support students and families in need during the holiday season. The SOK program serves an average of 50 families each year. In 2023, SOK grant funding was used to purchase holiday gifts for 81 children from 37 families.

 

Our Board of Directors

Heather Chial- President
Traci Breit- Past President
Kristin Born- Vice President
Melissa de Boer- Secretary
Benjamin Bain
Supriya Daithankar
Fayme Evenson
Niki Furlano
Rachel Knight
Kerri Langen
Kelly McMahon
RJ Oschner
Jake Ramey
Ryan Sherry
Nikki Walleen

Our History

Board of Education members and school administrators began to discuss creating an education foundation to support students and educators in Onalaska, WI, in 1996.  By December of that same year, the Board of Education formally stated their desire to support community efforts to establish an education foundation in Onalaska. The proposed purpose of the education foundation was to enhance the educational enterprise within the Onalaska community. The Board of Education then directed Larry Dalton, Director of Finance, to seek detailed information about the start-up of an education foundation from the Wisconsin Educational Foundation Network (WEFNET). On December 12, 1996, Mr. Dalton made the following recommendations to the Board of Education:

  1. A Board motion in support of the establishment of a local foundation would empower the administration to facilitate the process.
  2. They would need to establish a steering committee of citizens with a wide range of skills. This steering committee would conduct work sessions over a period of 4 to 6 months to arrive at a statement of mission for the proposed education foundation, to develop a profile for members of the Board of Directors, and to develop the by-laws and articles of incorporation.
  3. The Board of Education should underwrite only the minimum start-up cost.

In January 1997, the Board of Education and Onalaska school administrators presented a list of names for the proposed education foundation’s steering committee. The steering committee was formed and proceeded to hold informational sessions in 1997.  Several members of the steering committee attended the WEFNET conference in Madison, WI, on November 14, 1997. Following their return, the steering committee met on December 8, 1997, to set forth the process and procedures needed to establish an education foundation in Onalaska, WI.  The steering committee and subcommittees met several times in early 1998 as they worked to develop the necessary policies and procedures for the governance of a non-profit foundation as required by Wisconsin Statute Chapter 181 and Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The first official meeting of the Onalaska Foundation For Educational Excellence, Inc., more commonly known as the Onalaska Education Foundation (OEF), was held in the school board room at Onalaska High School on June 11, 1998. Twelve charter board members were installed, and four officers were elected, and the Onalaska Foundation For Educational Excellence, Inc. was established for the specific purpose set forth in Article 3 of Incorporation.

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