Rockville Centre Education Foundation names honoree, award recipients for April 6 gala

This year’s gala honoree is Rockville Centre resident Katie Schumacher

Courtesy Rockville Centre Education Foundation

The Rockville Centre Education Foundation will hold its 29th fundraising gala on April 6, during which it will honor those who have enhanced the community through technology.

Since 1991, the foundation has funded initiatives proposed by the district’s teachers and school administrators to expand educational opportunities. The gala, to be held at the Cherry Valley Country Club in Garden City, is the primary source of funding for the programs.

This year’s gala honoree is Rockville Centre resident Katie Schumacher, who founded the Don’t Press Send Campaign and has presented her Education in Cyber Civics program to students and parents in the community. The campaign provides children and teenagers with strategies as they navigate the ever-changing technological world by promoting kind and careful online communication, in the hope of preventing them from harming themselves or others.

Schumacher is also a member of the Drug and Alchol Task Force and a supporter of the Rockville Centre Youth Council.

The Education Foundation will also recognize Ruth Fins Award recipients Ryan Bockelmann and Daniel LaManna, technology teachers at South Side Middle School who serve as advisors for the robotics and technology clubs. Starting with a handful of students and initial funding from the Education Foundation, the middle school’s Robotics Club has grown year after year. Robotics has become a highly visible part of the school’s technology program, and the culture in that field has grown.

Bockelmann and LaManna plan to continue working together to research the newest technologies, machines, tools and strategies for students in the district.

For more information about the Rockville Centre Education Foundation, visit www.rvcedfoundation.org.