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Making an Impact: Donations to Cushman Fund Help Cushman Prepare for New Normal

Every year, parents at The Cushman School come together and demonstrate their passion for the continuation of our mission and belief in Cushman’s philosophy and programming through their support and advocacy for The Cushman Fund. As an independent school, tuition, charitable contributions, and endowment revenue are the only sources of support for The Cushman School’s operations. Since the School does not receive funding from the state of Florida or other institutions, it relies heavily on the generosity of its donors and partners. Cushman parent’s investment in the school maintains its sustainability and legacy.

The Cushman Fund is those dollars that are integral to our School’s yearly budget designed to help cover operating expenses. Given on an annual basis, these donations are used by The Cushman School to implement innovative programming and personalized services that tuition revenue doesn’t cover. Usually, the gifts are unrestricted and give us the necessary tools to be forward-thinking and relevant while providing your children or family member with an excellent education.

To aid members of our family who are enduring difficulties now and, in the future, and to help our School and community recover and thrive, we have come together to form the Cushman K.A.R.E.S Fund, an acronym for Kindness, Adaptability, Responsibility, Empathy and Support. The fund will be used to help families who are facing increased financial strain. It also contributed to Cushman building a robust technical infrastructure enabling anywhere, anytime learning, while preparing a safe return to campus. 

The more than $350,000 raised during 2019-2020 was pivotal in helping The Cushman School during the transition to remote learning and to ready the campus for the student’s safe return. 

“We believe that one’s giving builds stronger bonds with the School and more engaged parents while demonstrating a commitment and belief in our mission and vision,” said James A. Knapp, Chief Strategy Officer for Advancement. “Now we really get to see just how vital these funds are.” 

Some of the projects the funds were used to complete include:

Addition of a new middle school classroom by enclosing an upstairs patio

Exterior stairs for the middle school science lab

Roof replacement on the historic main building

Roof replacement on the business office

Installed 2 extra large ceiling fans that hang under the Elementary School pavilion (paid for by the Cushman School Parents Association)

The upgraded outdoor sound system in the Primary and Elementary divisions (paid for by the Cushman School Parents Association)

Upgraded the assembly ‘stage’ with new railing, more stage space, new flooring, and stage skirt

Upgraded all bathrooms to include ‘touchless’ faucets, toilets & towel dispensers on both Main and High School campuses

New UV lights and GPS air purifiers in classroom AC units and High School’s HVAC system

New middle school 2nd-floor awning

New security FOB/ check-in system in the high school

90 interactive ‘camera systems’ for synchronous/asynchronous learning on both campuses

Computer carts for teachers to be able to teach both remotely and in the classroom.

A laptop or iPad for all students

Handwashing stations and touchless antibacterial stands across campuses

Acrylic dividers for students desks and administrative offices

Social distancing signage