Lincoln Funeral Train Provides Educational Tours for Students

EEF Grant Showcase – The Lincoln Funeral Train

Awarded to Pam Evans, Jefferson Elementary School

The Lincoln Funeral Train pulled into Charleston on May 4, 2015. This project was a joint venture with the City of Charleston. Dianne Ratliff was the spearhead for bringing it here. The Excellence in Education grant helped to fund almost half of the cost so that it could be offered free to the public. The train was available for tours on May 5th and 6th.

EEF grant winner Pam Evans in front of the Lincoln Funeral Train.

All of the students from Carl Sandburg, Jefferson Elementary and Charleston Middle School toured the Funeral Car from 8 am to 3 pm. The Funeral Car was also open to the public each evening. Some people actually travelled several hours for this opportunity. There were approximately 3500 visitors that passed through the car during its short visit including 1400 school children from Charleston, Mattoon, and Marshall along with those from private schools and home schools. The students enjoyed seeing what the train would have looked like 150 years ago and thought it was really cool! They also had the chance to visit the Lincoln-Douglas Debate Museum that is onsite as well as listen to the speakers that were on hand to authenticate the experience with their period dress and conversations. On the walk back to school, the students passed through the nearby cemetery to visit the gravesites of several of Lincoln's relatives.

This blog was submitted by EEF board member Tim McCollum.

WELCOME

Welcome to the new website for the Excellence in Education Foundation!  We have moved from the CUSD#1 page to increase our visibility, inform you how our grants support students and teachers in the community, and call attention to ways that you can join our efforts to enhance excellence in education in the Charleston schools.

Visit us regularly to learn how we are working with teachers to improve educational opportunities for Charleston students. Future blogs will include “grants in action” reports of how local teachers are using grants awarded by the EEF in their classrooms. I think you’ll be impressed with how our teachers are using money from our grants to create innovative and creative learning opportunities for students. Many of the grant projects also provide direct benefits to the community. For example, the Lincoln Funeral Train exhibit at the Coles County Fairgrounds last spring was not only a learning opportunity for hundreds of local students, but it was also open to the public for three days.

The EEF has been active in the Charleston community for over twenty years, enhancing educational opportunities for CUSD#1 students, and enriching the creative environment in our schools by supporting teachers through grants that are awarded each year. Strong schools promote strong communities. In tough economic times in our state, it has never been more important to support our teachers so they can maintain excellence in their classrooms.

Last year, the EEF board committed to a major fundraising campaign to ensure the sustainability of our grants well into the future. Toward that end, we sponsored the first “Homecoming Happening” event as a way of honoring Charleston alumni and raising money for future students. We plan to continue holding this event every three years. We have a bold goal of increasing the amount of money granted to teachers in coming years. We need your assistance to make this happen.  Support our fundraisers. Attend our events. Donate to our cause.

You can help us keep our schools strong. In this season of giving, I encourage you to support our mission with a year-end gift to the Excellence in Education Foundation. One hundred percent of your donation goes directly into Charleston classrooms.  Invest in our community by giving to our schools. Hit the “give” button on this page to join us.

Thank you for visiting our page today.  Share our website and come back again soon.

Warmly,

Melanie Mills

2015-2016 President, EEF