As the 2026-27 Magnolia ISD school year begins, the educational nonprofit Magnolia Education Foundation will be celebrating its 25th anniversary.
About the program
Originally founded in 2001, the foundation’s main purpose is to support the teachers and students of MISD through annual classroom grants, student scholarships and anything that falls outside the district's purview.
An example of the scholarships the foundation provides to students is the annual Impact Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to MISD students who have made a positive impact in the Magnolia community. Since its initial founding during the 2022-23 school year, the foundation has awarded $17,000 to students across the district, according to their website.
Annual teacher grants are another major part of the foundation's work. The purpose of the grants is to support creative projects, resources and programs to enhance student learning. Individual teachers who apply can earn up to $5,000, a department/group can earn up to $7,500 and multicampus applicants can earn up to $10,000. The current leader behind the foundation's work is President Becca Henry, a former Magnolia West High School secretary. Henry, who has strong ties to the educational field through her own experience and through her close friends and family, said she uses her experiences to guide her current work as president.
“I believed in public education; I saw it from the other side," Henry said. “Not just in a classroom setting, I saw the other side of what really goes into campus support and what not only the students need, but what the administration needs and the teachers need.”
Marking a milestone
Henry said she believes the biggest change the foundation has seen since 2001 is the rapid growth of Magnolia ISD. The foundation is working to keep up with the growth, partnering with community members and donors alike to help fundraise for their various programs.
“Magnolia as a community has grown so much in the last 25 years and probably just in the last five years it has just grown. We're also trying to keep up and grow with it, and starting new recognition programs and offering more opportunities for not just our students, but also for educators.
Henry said the original founding members of the organization were current Montgomery County Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley and District 3 Rep. Cecil Bell Jr. The two men founded the Magnolia educational foundation after seeing how the district's needs outgrew the money and support that was provided by the state.
“Why the foundation was started was to be able to provide the resources that they need in classrooms and what students need once they graduate outside of the district's budget,” Henry said.
To celebrate the anniversary, Henry said they will be hosting a special alumni casino event Sept. 12. MISD alumni and Magnolia locals in general are encouraged to come and support the event. A large motivation behind this event behind fundraising is also a celebration of former MISD alumni, as Henry said the district as whole tends not to host many alumni events.
“Our district and our community doesn't really offer anything for our alumni,” Henry said. “So we really want to tap into them and just say, hey, we love that you're still here. We love that you're still trusting our district and our community to help you raise your kids and educate them.”
Quote of note
As the foundation celebrates its anniversary, Henry hopes to be able to achieve some more long-term goals as the district and foundation continue to grow. This includes growing the community volunteer base, expanding the current executive board and creating strong relationships with local businesses.
Henry said she wishes they could fund and support any scholarship and grant that came their way.
“Everyone thinks I'm crazy whenever I say this, but I want to fund every scholarship that comes in," Henry said. “I want to give back to every single educator in every way possible, but obviously that's kind of unrealistic. We have to have policies and procedures, but ultimately for us, we do just want to fund and help as much as we can.”
