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.
Intern Videos
Where are they now?
Carolina Cerpa was an intern at EHSI during 2017-2018. Check out her video here.
Mely Asprilla was an intern at EHSI during 2018-2019. Check out her video here.
Alberto Obregón was an intern at EHSI during 2017-2018. Check out his video here.
Marta Esteban, Eddy Quintero, David Gómez, Gaby Mendez were interns at EHSI during 2019-2020). Check out their video here.
Latest News
Eagle Heights has been nominated for Minnesota’s Best Immersion School!!!!!
Please help us get out the word so that our families and community can vote for EHSI! Anyone can vote so tell your families and friends!
We are so excited and grateful for the supportive community we have here in Eden Prairie!
To cast a vote for Eagle Heights, go to https://www.votemnbest.com/
Select Education,
Then select Immersion School
Then select Eagle Heights Spanish Immersion
Then select Review and Cast my Ballot
And finally click Submit Ballot!
You may vote once a day now through May 21, 2021.
Results will be published in the Minnesota’s Best Winners Magazine, which will be inserted in the Star Tribune newspaper on Sunday, August 1st. They will also be featured at VotedMinnesotasBest.com.
If we have enough qualified candidates and receive 16 acceptances, we’ll need families willing to volunteer to be Host or Buddy Families for the school year. If you already know you’re interested in being a Host or Buddy family, please complete the application process shown on the Volunteer page.
We will be hosting a Virtual Info Session for families on Tuesday, March 16th at 7 pm to learn about the Intern program and how to become a Host family. Contact Pam Noll for the Zoom Link.
If you’re looking to volunteer to support our intern program, but not able or interested in being a Host or Buddy Family, we have additional opportunities available. Keep scrolling down to the volunteering section to learn more or click on the Volunteer page
Volunteering
2021 – 2022 SEF Board Opportunities
2021 – 2022 Committee Opportunities
Our Intern Committee Chair(s) work closely with other Intern Committee members to ensure our interns have a successful year interning. The SEF Intern committee consists of a Host Family Coordinator, a Buddy Family Coordinator, a Transportation & Cultural Events Coordinator and Intern Clothing Coordinator. The Chair(s) supports committee members in their work while providing oversight/coordination of efforts. If you’re a strong communicator, detail orientated and well organized, this is a great role for you. Time commitment is approximately 2 – 5 hours per month during recruiting season, then on an as needed basis. If you’re interested in volunteering or have questions, please contact Sarah Bailey at sarahb11278@gmail.com.
Buddy Family Coordinator(s)
The SEF Buddy Family Program provides a “break” for our host families while participating families create lasting relationships with our interns. Our coordinator(s) help recruit buddy families who are then matched to a host family and an intern. Additionally, the coordinator(s) check-in and support buddy families and interns throughout the school year as needed, and by coordinating the driving schedule for bi-monthly intern meetings. If you’ve got a knack for organization, like to meet new people and want to connect with interns, buddy and host families, this is a great opportunity for you. Time commitment is approximately 2 – 5 hours per month during recruiting season, then on an as needed basis. If you’re interested in volunteering or have questions, please contact our outgoing Buddy Family Coordinators Holly Chester and Kim Pederson at SEFbuddyfamily@gmail.com.
At the end of the 2021 – 2022 school year, several of our Board of Directors will rotate out of leadership positions as their students move on to Central Middle School. If you have an interest in joining the SEF Board as Chair, Treasurer or Secretary, we’d love to have you meet with the current board members and join our monthly meetings to learn more. If you’re interested in learning more about the roles, please contact the following:
Chair – Sarah Bailey at sarahb11278@gmail.com
Treasurer – Wayne Bailey at waynerbailey@gmail.com
Secretary – Pam Noll at nollpamela1@gmail.com
Cinco de Mayo Fiesta 2021 
Social Media Update
EHSI is on Twitter!
Get sneak peeks into your student’s art, gym and music classes. Enjoy seeing the exciting educational activities going on in classrooms all over Eagle Heights, intern professional development, information on school sponsored events and celebrations as well as catching the interns in action in the classroom.
Follow @EPEaglesEHSI to get up-to-date information about all things Spanish Immersion!
FUNDRAISING
The International Teaching Intern Program is 100% funded by parent contributions to our Annual Contributions Campaign and employer matching programs. We receive no financial support from the school district or schools.
While we won’t have interns for our schools to start the 2020-21 school year, our goal remains for families to make their annual contribution at the start of the school year. This ensures our program remains financially stable for the future and is able to continue to bring interns to our schools.
The most important aspect is that EVERY immersion family contributes some amount to the program to help share the financial burden of the program as all of our children benefit from this unique educational resource in some way.
The suggested contribution is $150 per student or whatever amount works in your family’s budget. It’s the easiest way to support the program…write one check at the beginning of the school year, and you are done!
Make Your Annual Contribution
Annual Contribution
Did you know… 100% of your Annual Contribution goes to the SEF and is the primary source of funding for the International Teaching Intern Program? It’s easy to contribute, just use the donate button below.
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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