Youth and Teacher Enhancement

One of the most important investments in the future is connecting the resources of the University available to our nation’s K-12 youth and their teachers. DCS funds and facilitates hundreds of enrichment learning opportunities for youth and professional development opportunities for K-12 teachers. DCS believes that education begets education and that knowledge can help everyone improve their quality of life. Please consider the following giving or naming opportunities.

Just for Kids Fund

Help us establish an endowment for disadvantaged youth to receive scholarships for noncredit courses in the arts, humanities and sciences. Your gift will nurture the creative spirit of low-income youth whether they aspire to become the next great artist, writer, teacher, politician, business leader or scientist. UW-Madison’s noncredit youth programs serve some 14,000 youth throughout the year. Opportunities include College for Kids, Saturday Enrichment, Middle School College Access and other programs that provide accelerated studies. Summer Enrichment and other research-oriented programs provide laboratory experiences where minority high school students work in research labs in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine. Other youth programs focus on the arts, languages, atmospheric sciences, computer technology, math and agriculture. Your gift to disadvantaged youth will really make a difference.

Just for Teachers Fund

As with any profession, teachers must constantly update their skills and rejuvenate their creative spirits. UW-Madison offers hundreds of noncredit and credit courses to help teachers stay current in their fields and meet continuing education license requirements through courses in specialized fields, curriculum development, professional development, and teacher research and inquiry programs. Outside funding is critical. Your support can help K-14 science and health teachers attend more than 20 Wisconsin Teacher Enhancement Program (WisTEP) summer courses. WisTEP connects these teachers with university scientists and lets them develop and test innovative instructional materials on fast plants, human genetics, fetal alcohol syndrome, mental health, and other issues. The summer Advanced Placement Institute plays a critical role in training hundreds of Midwestern teachers who teach and test thousands of high school students around the region in taking Advance Placement courses for college credit in biology, economics, English, French, math, U.S. government, U.S. history, Spanish and statistics.

Your gift will open the door to hundreds of learning opportunities for teachers throughout the country. In the words of one teacher who recently completed a UW continuing education course, "I believe this workshop was one of the turning points in my decision to stay in the field of education."

The Arts are for Everyone      Alumni Lifelong Learning
Learning in Retirement      Wis. Idea Public Presentation
Wis. Idea Strategic Initiative

Student Opportunity Fund       DCS Giving Home