Joe Van Deuren

I am an AACPS: Parent | Business Partner | Donor

The below story is from the Behind the Scenes: Investing in our Future story. Click here to read the full story.

“When we hear the school system is getting a billion dollars that’s a lot of money to all of us,” says Joe Van Deuren. “But what we don’t think about is how far they have to stretch that money.” As Owner and Founder of Balanced Life Skills, a local martial arts school dedicated to helping families and the community bring out the best in our children, Mr. Van Deuren understands the challenge of making any budget meet the diverse needs of the school system. With over 120 schools, thousands of employees, and tens of thousands of students, AACPS is responsible for providing programs and opportunities that reach all children and prepare them for success after high school. So yes, Mr. Van Deuren says, the school system gets a lot of money, but there are still needs that cannot be met by public funding alone, which is why private support is so critical.

For Mr. Van Deuren, Balanced Life Skills has partnered with public and private schools throughout the county to support bullying and suicide prevention programs, career day presentations, and other enrichment programs to help encourage students to be safe, healthy, and successful. But while he has been pledging his time to support the schools since 2003, Mr. Van Deuren wanted to find a way to give back in a larger way to the school system that served three of his own children.

The answer came to him during a conversation with an art teacher who had been asked to teach a water color class for his students, but because he did not have the right tools in his classroom, used his own money to purchase water color supplies for his students. Shocked by this story, Mr. Van Deuren did some research and found that that almost 100% of public school teachers spend some money out of pocket on school supplies, instructional materials and other classroom supplies, with many teachers spending more than $500 each year. “You have those moments where you hear the story of the teacher who has to take money out of their own pocket…,” said Mr. Van Deuren, “and you just know at that time that you have to do something.”

To support these teachers, Mr. Van Deuren chose to create a grants program that would supply money for public schools teachers to fund creative ideas of engaging their students that would not be funded any other way. In 2009, Mr. Van Deuren partnered with the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County (CFAAC) and the Grants 4 Teachers program took off. (The CFAAC is a charitable organization, supported by local donors, dedicated to support the people and non-profit organizations of Anne Arundel County). Since its creation, the Grants 4 Teachers fund has provided over $53,000 to fund 122 different projects at throughout Anne Arundel County. As one example of the many ways that individuals support our school system, the Grants 4 Teachers program has allowed teachers to help students find and follow a passion—from providing musical instruments to gardening tools—that could not have been covered through the school’s budget alone.

Whether it’s a $15 donation to your local Parent Teacher Association or a $1,500 gift to support a strategic AACPS initiative throughout the county through the school systems, every private dollar matters. As best said by Mr. Van Deuren, “Getting involved certainly makes you feel good that you’re doing your part but more importantly it sends a message to our teachers, it sends a message to our students that we believe in them and we believe that they are going to be successful.”