Polk Education Foundation Awarded $80,000 from the Mabel Schaefer Legacy Grant through GiveWell Community Foundation to Expand AmeriCorps Polk Reads Literacy Initiative

Polk Education Foundation has been awarded an $80,000 grant from GiveWell Community 
Foundation in honor of Mabel Schaefer’s legacy. This investment will allow the Polk Education
Foundation AmeriCorps Polk Reads program to pilot Building Blocks Literacy: an expansion beyond 
its traditional Polk County Public Schools kindergarten through 3rd-grade focus that will begin 
serving 4th - and 5th -grade students over the next two years. This pilot will help determine how well 
upper-elementary students understand foundational phonics skills and how targeted instruction 
can support their growth.

AmeriCorps Polk Reads has served elementary students for more than two decades, providing 
one-on-one tutoring to help children build essential reading skills. With this new funding, the 
program will equip school sites with advanced phonics curriculum, phonics-based learning games, 
comprehensive tutor training aligned with the national Science of Reading framework, and 
incentives to recruit and retain tutors. The pilot will operate in 12 sites in the first academic year, 
building on the 10 sites served last year, with a goal of reaching 15 fully equipped sites by the end of 
the second year. Over the full pilot period, the initiative is expected to provide direct intervention to 
1,000 students districtwide.

This award is part of a larger philanthropic legacy left by Mabel Schaefer, a Polk County resident 
who passed away in 2023. Mrs. Schaefer was a former third-grade teacher who lived to be 100 years 
old and dedicated her life to education and service. Through GiveWell Community Foundation, 
more than $875,000 has been distributed so far to 20 nonprofits across Polk and Highlands 
counties that reflect the causes most important to her, including early childhood education. The 
Polk Education Foundation received the second-largest gift, reflecting a strong alignment between 
Mrs. Schaefer’s values and the Foundation’s mission to strengthen student success.
Through this grant, the Foundation will reach more students with high-impact, phonics-based 
instruction. Mrs. Schaefer’s generous legacy will help build stronger readers, stronger schools, and 
a stronger Polk County community.