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Beaming parents, enthralled youngsters hoping to catch a glimpse of their local hero, screaming fans shouting encouragement for a victory-intense competition.
A typical scene at any high school athletic event, but at a local high school academic competition? It will be if the Warsaw Foundation for Public Education has anything to say about it.
"We want to establish an organization that promotes and rewards academic excellence similar to how the Booster Club promotes athletics," said foundation president Keith Reinholt.
The WCFP is a nonprofit corporation which encourages and assists educational functions and activities for Warsaw Community Schools. It coordinates a partnership program, pairing schools and area businesses, to provide beneficial experiences for students.
"One of the problems we've encountered is that people think we're a part of the school system," Reinholt said. "But we're completely separate from the schools."
The foundation also provides grants to teachers who have programs that extend outside the regular classroom work to benefit students.
"The idea is to encourage teachers to use creativity and originality when developing educational programs," said Cathy Teghtmeyer of the foundation.
"We awarded a grant last school year for a student-designed and developed, landscaped courtyard at the high school," she said.
Only a lack of available funds keeps the foundation from supporting more unique programs such as that, Reinholt said.
"We probably get between 50 and 75 grant requests a year, and we support as many as we can," he said.
But raising monetary support isn't the foundation's only goal, according to Reinholt and Teghtmeyer. Increasing visibility and awareness is also a priority for the organization.
"It's not all about money, either," Reinholt said. "It's to develop an awareness of what's going on in the schools."
As a part of that effort, the foundation is hosting an awards and recognition ceremony at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at 2517 Restaurant. The 38 Warsaw students who received straight A's in all four quarters of the 1997-98 school year will be presented a certificate commemorating their achievement. The event is open to the public.
"This is the first time we've had a formal awards presentation," Reinholt said. "But, we thought we needed to get out of simply attending school board meetings and make it a little more special for the kids."
