Since 2005, the Tuloso-Midway Education Foundation has lived by a simple mantra: “We’ve been helping T-M thrive since ’05.”
This week, staff, students, and community members gathered to celebrate two decades of the foundation’s impact—providing grants to help teachers spark creativity in classrooms and enrich the student learning experience.
Executive Director Nikki Horman said the foundation was created to fill gaps left by school district budget restraints.
“The mission was started to help out school districts’ budgetary restraints so we can still give everything the kids need and more,” Horman explained.
Over the past 20 years, the foundation has awarded 426 grants totaling more than $1 million.
These funds have given students opportunities for hands-on learning—covering everything from classroom supplies to field trips that make lessons come alive.
For students like Tuloso-Midway Middle Schooler Atlee Arriaga, those experiences have been invaluable.
“It definitely has helped me,” Arriaga said. “It’s made school fun—especially the field trips. It’s very fun to have field trips.”
Horman said the goal has always been to move beyond the traditional model of learning and inspire the next generation.
“You just don’t want to be sitting at your desk off of a projector doing a workbook—that’s how it’s been done since the 60s,” she said. “We’re over that. We’re trying to get new, fresh ideas and really hands-on experiences for these kids.”
For the Tuloso-Midway community, the foundation’s first 20 years have been about more than just grants—they’ve been about igniting the spirit of education for the future.
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
