The Carlisle CEF & The Carlisle PTO

The Carlisle Education Foundation (CEF) is a non-profit volunteer organization, and our mission is to promote innovative approaches to teaching & learning and enhance educational experiences for all students.

Guided by the core values of Carlisle Public Schools- Academic Excellence, Creativity, Respect and Responsibility - we seek to bridge the gap between the school’s budget and its needs to cultivate a thriving learning environment.

The CEF pursues this mission through funding both major CPS initiatives and grants submitted by CPS faculty and staff. In the past, the CEF supported the development of the engineering room and the performing arts studio and has funded grants for things such as the sensory pathway, new robotics kits, and wearables to enhance physical education.

CEF is currently funding the Maker Space, an initiative aimed at providing middle schoolers with after-school STEM activities. In its inaugural year, the Maker Space has been home to robotics, leather making, sewing, and woodworking courses.

CEF hopes to continue support of innovative faculty grants, the Maker Space, as well as fund future major initiatives, such as the creation of a media lab at CPS.

Each year, the Carlisle Public School Parent Teacher Organization funds programs such as Read Across America, All-School Assemblies, Faculty Grants, and Curriculum Enrichment Programs, bringing innovation, cutting edge research and development, science, history, and learning to life in hands-on, memorable ways.

These programs are not funded by the school and rely entirely on families like yours to ensure our teachers have the tools they need to inspire and educate at the highest level. It’s this partnership that helps Carlisle Public Schools stand out as a model of excellence.

In the past, our teachers have requested in-class programs and applied for faculty grants, such as books for teachers' shelves, equipment for Middle School science classrooms, educational website subscriptions, and reading programs for our early readers. These grants and CE programs allow our teachers to bring innovation and new ideas into the classroom with programs that are outside the school's budget. It brings the PTO immense pleasure to be able to say "yes" when teachers ask for something they want to use to make an impact. We can't keep giving them those "yeses" without your support!

Curriculum Enrichment and Faculty Grants: PAST AND PRESENT

Pre-K through Grade 4: Read Across America (learn more here!)

Kindergarden:

The World of Owls : Wingmasters
Mass Audubon Visit: Wild Tales
The Discovery Museum of Acton: The Science of Bubbles

Grade 1: Plimoth Patuxet Reservation Visit

Grade 2: Mass Audubon Visit: Animal Adaptations

Grade 3: Wampanoag Tribe Visit

Grade 4:

The Discovery Museum of Acton: Sound Waves
The Discovery Museum of Acton: Lights and Lasers

Grades 5 to 8:

Independent Reading Books Grant (learn more here!)
Book Fair Week: Author visit for Middle School readers (such as Tui Sutherland, Rajani LaRocca, and Susan Tan)

Grades 5 and 6: Local Author Visits

Grade 7: Lab Equipment (learn more here!)

Grade 8: Living Voices: Through the Eyes of a Friend: A Holocaust Remembrance Program

My So-Called Prom

Let's Party Like It's 1999!