Mercer Island High School's gymnasium was transformed Tuesday morning into a festive dining and entertainment venue as over 500 friends and supporters of Mercer Island schools gathered for The Mercer Island Schools Foundation’s annual Breakfast of Champions event. TV anchor Jean Enersen hosted the event and Puget Sound Energy’s Andy Wappler challenged the attendees to “dig deep” to “bridge the gap” in state funding for schools. The Foundation is hoping to raise a total of $1.2 million to retain 20 teachers and maintain current class sizes.
In his keynote speech, Superintendent Dr. Gary Plano spoke of “Educating the Idea-Makers of the Future.” He said, “Our students today will grow up and may one day find cures to diseases, find new sources of energy, and have the strong ethics and character to lead financial institutions, teach children and run companies. But they and we can’t do it without you.”
MISF executive director Penny Yantis said, “Today’s Breakfast showed that once again, this community is more than willing to step up and support teachers and students. We are slightly ahead of last year’s total at this time and thrilled with the results. We look forward to receiving additional generous donations in the weeks ahead. Thank you to all!”
— Information provided by the Mercer Island School District
