MADISON — Madison City Schools received a special treat at the March 7 board meeting when the executive director of The Schools Foundation presented a $10,000 check to be used at the high schools.

The check is intended to be split evenly between Bob Jones and James Clemens high schools to support their AP courses.

“Early on, The Schools Foundation made significant investments in Advanced Placement courses,” said Elizabeth Fleming, executive director of The Schools Foundation. “That’s something that is a passion of ours, and we had schools in North Alabama that had no AP course offerings. Your high schools had those, but we were so thrilled to see the growth that you were able to provide and do through the support.”

According to Fleming, The Schools Foundation is a local 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports the three public school districts in Madison County: Huntsville City Schools, Madison City Schools and Madison County Schools. Collectively, the systems and foundation serve more than 54,000 students.

“I get to go to a lot of board meetings, I get to go into a lot of schools, and there is nothing better than seeing the work that is happening at all of our schools and all of our classrooms, and so we are just proud to continue to support the great work that your team—together, collectively—does for the 11,000-and-growing student population that you all have in Madison City Schools.

At the State of the Schools breakfast event Feb. 13, which was hosted by The Schools Foundation, Parker said Bob Jones and James Clemens currently offer 31 AP courses. At Parker’s own State of the Schools address Feb. 26, he shared a few more AP courses planned in the near future. Some of these included AP comparative government, AP studio art: 2-D and 3-D design and a blended course involving AP literature, AP government and AP comparative government.

“You guys are such great partners with The Schools Foundation,” Fleming told Parker and the board. “We are always impressed.”

Fleming also noted at the meeting that while the majority of funds that The Schools Foundation acquires and donates come from the local corporate community, there are ways that individuals outside of that group can contribute as well. One of these is by rounding up on Huntsville Utilities bills.

“There are 180,000 residential users across our community,” she said. “If half of those individuals … round up, we would have $500,000 a year.”

Board President Ranae Bartlett thanked Fleming for presenting the donation, and Parker praised Fleming for her work and support through The Schools Foundation. “She absolutely does so much for the schools through The Schools Foundation,” he said. “There’s not a better friend to the schools (outside the education sector).”

For more information on The Schools Foundation, visit theschoolsfoundation.org.