The Penn-Harris-Madison Board of School Trustees voted to approve the sponsorship agreement between the P-H-M Education Foundation and Tradewinds Restaurant (Mishawaka) at tonight’s Board meeting (Monday, March 28, 2016).

Per the agreement, Tradewinds will donate $25,000 to the P-H-M Education Foundation endowment for a 12-year naming rights period, thereby affording the family-owned restaurant the opportunity to name the second floor concession stand, near the entrance to the pool and across the main gymnasium at Penn High School. Tradewinds will also pay the signage costs to have the stand renamed “Tradewinds Restaurant Concession Stand.”

The mission of the Education Foundation is to develop alternative sources of income to support education initiatives in the School Corporation by strengthening partnerships between the community and the District. PHMEF supports education through awarding innovative teaching grants, scholarships to students, staff development and other corporation-wide initiatives.

Per PHMEF’s naming rights fundraising initiative, 80 percent of the donation will go into the Foundation’s endowment, which will in turn provide alternative and additional funding for various co-curricular and extracurricular programs. The remaining 20 percent will directly fund professional development initiatives for P-H-M teachers. Continuing education and training of teachers is a major priority for P-H-M School District. With the recent release of the 2015 ISTEP+ scores, P-H-M believes the key to providing an excellent education is excellent teachers.