The purpose of the scholarships
is to provide equitable access to
opportunities for Shaker students,
both in and beyond the classroom.
To apply, support, or learn more, visit
shakerschoolsfoundation.org/studentscholarships.
Stay Informed:
For the latest news and information about Shaker Heights Schools, visit shaker.org.
Follow us on Facebook.com/ForShakerSchools
or Tweet us @ShakerSchools.
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Opportunity Scholarships: Explore, Create, Grow
Over the summer, opportunity scholarships helped Shaker students try their hand
at something new such as building with Legos®, 3D game design, scouting, soccer,
basketball, tennis, and youth theatre.
Two funds managed by the Shaker Schools Foundation helped make it possible.
Beyond the Desk scholarships help students explore an extracurricular activity
outside of school, while Level the Playing Field scholarships support participation
in youth team sports through the Shaker Recreation Department and the Shaker
Youth Sports leagues.
Building Bridges and Working Together
Julie Kaufman uses keychains to open doors. Earlier this year, the former teacher helped Shaker Heights High School students
brainstorm, research, create, price, market, and sell handsome handmade resin keychains at The Corner in the Van Aken
District Market Hall.
More importantly, she watched the young people transform from a group of strangers into a community that had a shared
interest, a defined goal, and desire to support one another.
Shaker Makers has been providing equitable opportunities for Shaker students and their families since 2015. Kaufman
started the program after her son, then in fourth grade, observed that youngsters who rode the school bus didn’t play with the
neighborhood kids after school.
As a result, Kaufman set out to help young people build bonds with those whom they would not otherwise encounter. In
the meantime, the students get a crash course in entrepreneurship, manufacturing, marketing, and selling a product from
soup to nuts.
“This group was diverse and inclusive,” Kaufman says. “There was no application process to be accepted, and
everyone was welcome.”
Last winter’s project was keychains. The students worked on the project in February and March and sold the finished
product in April.
Shaker Makers isn’t an official school program. Students do it in their free time. Still, Kaufman notes that the
program relates well to the Shaker Schools Strategic Plan and with the District’s and City’s efforts around diversity,
equity, and inclusion. SL
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