Bringing Great Things To The Classroom
About GBEF
The Gresham-Barlow Education Foundation was founded in 1994 with the mission to enrich district classrooms with financial support beyond state and federal funding. Promoting excellence in education through imaginative, innovative and student-focused programs while fostering partnerships, allows the GBEF to be a catalyst for community building and advocate for the district. Since its inception, the Foundation has provided over $2.3 million dollars in education enhancements for the district.
GBEF support is unique to each school but throughout the entire district, the positive results of the Foundation can be seen. Additional technology including smart boards, document cameras, iPads, iPods, and laptop computers are now available to students. An innovative reading curriculum was added thanks to funds raised by our historic Phone-a-Thon. The Foundation’s continued support of literacy now affects students by making an eLibrary available to all students 24/7 — even when school isn’t in session.
The GBEF continues to partner with the district to explore new ways to support teachers and the learning experience for every student who calls the Gresham-Barlow School District their educational home.
Mission & Values
The Gresham-Barlow Education Foundation provides funding to enhance and enrich the educational experience of the students in the Gresham-Barlow School District.
District classrooms are positively impacted by classroom Innovation Grants that enable educators to request funding for creative teaching curriculum, student-centered projects, and increased technology.
"Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself."
– John Dewey
About Gresham-Barlow School District
Gresham-Barlow School District supports 21 public schools, which include K-12 & Charter schools; open to 11,464 students for the 2024-25 academic year. The Gresham-Barlow District is committed to ongoing excellence in standardized exams and core curriculum benchmarks.
Additionally, the district is one of the largest and most culturally diverse in the state of Oregon.
Board of Directors
Current Board Members
Tyson Bell
President, BeginRIGHT Employment Services
Justin Fox
Owner, Justin Fox Allstate Insurance
Erin Beggs
Owner, Social by Design
Melissa McGowan
GBSD employee
Jonathan Sewell
Bank of the West
Cindy Mumford
Retired GBSD HR Admin
Jayson Echternach
Thomson Equipment
Cathy Larkin
Retired GBSD educator
Shelley Burns-Giusto
Owner, Burns Feed Store
Emeritus Board Members
Gene Ann Shepherd
Board Service 1994 – 2002
Dale Campbell
Board Service 1994 – 2003
Rich Correra
Board Service 1994 – 2004
Al Richard
Board Service 1994 – 2005
Sue O’Halloran
Board Service 1994 – 2003
Jay Echternach
Board Service 1995 – 2005
Bob Harland
Board Service 2002 – 2007
Scott Hanson
Board Service 2002 – 2007
Debi Baker
Board Service 1996 – 2009
Mike Miller
Board Service 2000 – 2018
Wendy Vondrak
Board Service 1999 – 2018
Sue Piazza
Board Service 1998 -2020
Linda Nelson
Board Service 1994 – 2020
Bob Lilly
Board Service 1994 -2020
Vince Patrick
Board Service 2009 -2020
Jan Barkley
Board Service – 1994-2020