Welcome to the Spanish Education Fund
The Spanish Education Fund (SEF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed in 2009. Our purpose is to raise money and recruit parent volunteers to support the International Teaching Intern Program at Eagle Heights Spanish Immersion School (K-6), Central Middle School (7-8) and Eden Prairie High School (9-12).
Interns from Spanish speaking countries from around the world assist teachers and students in classrooms at these schools, providing a unique educational resource that has been proven extremely valuable to language acquisition, by bring their language and cultures to life. As a result, students become more confident in their ability to communicate in Spanish and create connections to people and places outside of their own world.
In addition to fundraising, we work with school staff to review and select intern candidates, recruit host and buddy families for the interns from our parent community for the duration of their stay, collect donations of winter clothing, organize parent volunteers to provide transportation for interns, and many other things to ensure interns have a positive experience while in the U.S. gaining valuable experience in the field of education.
Our Mission
Support the Eden Prairie Spanish immersion program, through sustainable funding, to host the best volunteer international Spanish speaking interns and provide other educational and cultural resources.
Latest News
Cinco de Mayo Fiesta May 6th
The SEF Cinco de Mayo Auction is now open! Please click on the link below to see what items have been so generously donated to our great cause!
The Auction will close on Friday, May 6th at 10 pm. LET THE BIDDING BEGIN!
Click Here to go to the Auction!
Go to our facebook page for up to date details on Cinco.
Questions? Contact Laura Bjelogrlic, SEF Fundraising Coordinator.
The Cinco de Mayo Fiesta is the SEF end-of-the-year adults-only celebration with parents, teachers, staff and interns. There will be great food, music, a wine cork pull, auction, Magic-Comedy Show and more!
As you know, the SEF International Teaching Intern Program is a unique educational resource that we are fortunate to provide for our children, teachers and community. Due to the impacts of COVID, the SEF sponsored 5 interns this 2021-22 school year. Next year, we look to invite 16 interns to our schools! Our interns come from various Spanish-speaking countries to help in our children’s classrooms each year. Interns model Spanish conversation with the teachers, share their cultures with our students, and provide an additional adult in the classroom to assist the teacher. This is important for EHSI because, unlike other elementary schools in the district, parents are not able to help in the classroom unless they are fluent in Spanish.
Remember, the intern program is funded 100% by immersion parents through our primary fundraiser, the Annual Contribution Campaign, and our Cinco de Mayo Fiesta. Eagle Heights, CMS, EPHS and the SEF receive no financial support from the school district for the intern program. Your donations to the Cinco de Mayo Fiesta and the Annual Contribution Campaign directly fund interns for your child next school year.
Volunteering
SEF Volunteer Opportunities
SEF is already prepping for our 2022-23 interns!
As our program is fully run and funded by parent volunteers, we’ll have the following opportunities for parents (and families) to be involved with our intern program during the 2022-23 school year. If you have questions on any of the opportunities below, please contact Sarah Bailey.
SEF Board Positions:
Treasurer – if you’re good to great with excel, this is the volunteer opportunity for you!
Secretary – if you’re super organized, love taking notes and keeping people on track, this is the volunteer opportunity for you!
The Treasurer and Secretary board positions are VERY important, and the SEF cannot operate without filling these roles.
SEF Committee Positions:
Host Family Coordinator – if you’re great at matching up people, this is the volunteer opportunity for you!
Transportation / Cultural Event Coordinator – if you’re great at scheduling and planning fun events, this is the volunteer opportunity for you!
Looking ahead to next year’s Interns
The SEF intern interview team is currently conducting interviews of intern candidates for next school year. We have had several great candidates and will continue interviewing this spring.
We need host families to commit to hosting for next year. You can host for the full school year, the fall or the spring. Hosting is a very rewarding and unique opportunity for your family and the intern creating special memories and a bond that last a lifetime.
If you are interested in hosting or have questions about hosting, contact Sarah Bailey.
Learn more about volunteering as a family on our SEF Volunteer page.
Click here for the application to be a host family for one of our interns.
Click here for the application to be a buddy family for one of our interns.
Fundraising
Annual Contribution
Thank you to all the families who have already made their annual contribution! Annual Contributions are the SEF‘s main source of funding for the Intern Program. We receive no financial support from the school district or schools. The intern program is 100% parent funded. As we have fewer interns this year, our 2021-22 fundraising goal is ~$50,000. If we do not reach our goal we may need to reduce the number of interns in our schools during a “normal” school year.
You can make your annual contribution below or online at www.spanisheducationfund.org. You can also set up budget friendly monthly payments via PayPal using the subscribe button!
Your support is vital to the continuation of this important component of our children’s immersion education. Thank you for your support!
Employer matching
Don’t forget… employer matching and workplace-based donation campaigns are another source of funding for the intern program. Many employers will match their employee’s donation, doubling the gift. Several families participate in these each year. To find out if your company matches, contact your human resources department.
Monthly Annual Contribution
Want to spread out your Annual Contribution into budget friendly monthly payments? Select a monthly payment option from the drop down menu and click the SUBSCRIBE button below instead to make monthly Annual Contribution donations.
| Monthly Payment Options |
Checks
Make checks payable to the Spanish Education Fund and mail to:
SEF Treasurer
c/o Eagle Heights Spanish Immersion School
13400 Staring Lake Parkway
Eden Prairie, MN 55347
SEF Federal Tax ID# 27-0584708
Spanish Education Fund | info@spanisheducationfund.org | Expanding our children’s world
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