Payton Prep Initiative for Education
Welcome to Payton Prep Initiative for Education |PPIE|
The mission of Payton Prep Initiative for Education (PPIE) is to build the Payton Endowment Fund to sustain the academic vision, mission, and tradition of excellence at Walter Payton College Preparatory High School well into the future. The Payton Endowment Fund will support the school's transformative education programs that prepare students for leadership in the 21st century.
Driven by a commitment to excellence in college preparatory education, PPIE has set an endowment goal of $3,000,000.
The Payton Endowment Fund will be used to:
- Enhance Teacher Training and Professional Development because we believe in the power of great teaching;
- Provide Scholarships for Student Travel because we believe that expanding a student’s horizon beyond the classroom enriches every student’s experience in the classroom;
- Support all of our student athletes, musicians, writers, diplomats, mathematicians and artists because we believe that nurturing the whole student matters;
- Improve the technology in every classroom, library, art room and music room in the building because we believe that our students’ futures demand it; and
- Maintain and enlarge the Payton campus because we believe that a vibrant, highly functional work environment inspires students to do their best work.
Please join us in making these beliefs into a lasting reality for all Payton students.
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is it that PPIE does for Walter Payton College Prep High School?
Payton Prep Initiative for Education (PPIE) is a 501 (c) 3 registered charitable organization for the sole benefit of the Walter Payton College Prep High School. PPIE’s mission is to build a financially significant endowment to support the school’s transformative education programs that prepare students for leadership in the 21st century.
2. Who attends Walter Payton College Prep High School?
Payton students come from all zip codes of the City of Chicago. Fifty percent of our total population of 850 students are poverty and low income students, this includes a number of students every year who are homeless. Everyone who attends Payton earned a spot at the school by testing in to the school. We are proud to note that the racial and ethnic diversity of the Payton student body is robust. Our student body is 10% multiracial, 22% Hispanic, 18% African American, 36% Caucasion, 9% Asian American and Pacific Islander students and 5% other. In addition, 13% of the Payton population is learning disabled or physically handicapped.
3. How do I know PPIE is a legitimate charitable organization?
PPIE is listed on the Illinois Attorney General site for registered charities.
http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/charities/search/index.jsp
4. How long has PPIE been in existence?
The idea of a development board for Payton began before the doors opened in 2000. Knowing that as a Chicago public school with a significant poverty population, Payton would always be in need of more funding than CPS can provide, the founders of Payton sought to formulate a dedicated board to lead a long-term funding effort. PPIE was established as a tax exempt organization in 2007.
5. Who is on the PPIE board?
Parents, community members, the Payton principal, and Payton alumni are elected members of the PPIE board.
6. What percentage of my donation to PPIE goes to fund the endowment?
One hundred percent of your donation is invested in the PPIE endowment. All board members are volunteers. Minimal operating expenses include accounting, auditing, and banking fees.
7. What is the difference between FOP and PPIE?
Friends of Payton (FOP) is a parent run organization that raises funds for the current year to supplement CPS funds, assists in the development of the Payton parent community, and provides volunteer assistance to support Walter Payton College Prep. Payton Prep Initiative for Education (PPIE) is focused on raising an endowment fund to support future educational innovations and to give Payton the ability to seize opportunities to sustain and expand the world-class education that Payton has provided to its students over it first decade. The Payton Endowment Fund will ultimately be used to support teacher development, student travel scholarships, technology throughout the school, the needs of our athletic and extracurricular programs and the maintenance and improvement of our campus.
8. Who invests the money donated to PPIE?
The PPIE board, working with a professional investment advisor, sets conservative guidelines on the investment strategy of the funds. Strategies within the guidelines are suggested by the board’s investment committee.
9. To date, has PPIE donated any funds to Payton?
Yes. For a 10-year anniversary gift to Payton, PPIE donated $100,000 to purchase state-of the-art computer equipment, furniture, and technology support for the language lab and library. These necessary items would not have been replaced under the Chicago Public Schools budget for decades.
10. Why should I donate to PPIE?
Payton's success in such a relatively short time is remarkable because of its students, teachers, and administration. Being a small, public high school with a student population that is 50% poverty, low income, and in some cases, homeless, requires long-term, private funding to supplement its public funding base. By you donating to PPIE's endowment, Payton will be able to provide vital programs and resources that simply would not exist without your support. Every Payton graduate, parent and friend must aspire to make Payton the best version of itself. To do that, we must endow the future. We must rally our collective resources to ensure that we are constantly bringing the best ideas and practices to bear on a Payton education. Your donation to The Payton Endowment Fund will ensure that Payton will be able to do that and will continue to nurture leaders.
11. Should I donate to FOP or PPIE?
PPIE's answer is that you should donate to both. Each fundraising organization is important and has a specific purpose. FOP supports Payton's community events, athletic programs, office equipment, student travel, and various needs of the school for the current year. PPIE looks to the future and aims to support Payton's continued leadership and success with a permanent base of endowed funding to nurture leaders and advance
the possibilities of public education in the City of Chicago and beyond. PPIE sees Payton's accomplishments to date as extraordinary, but only the beginning.
12. What is the amount that PPIE has raised so far?
As of February 2014, The Payton Endowment Fund is at approximately 25% of its goal, all of which has been donated by students, parents, grandparents, community members, Payton administrators, alumni and local businesses.
13. When does PPIE plan to start spending the endowment?
As noted at item 8 above, PPIE made a $100,000 donation to the school on the 10th anniversary of the school. PPIE does not anticipate disbursing additional monies from The Payton Endowment Fund until it reaches $3,000,000.
14. May I give a restricted gift to PPIE?
Yes. While we prefer that donations be generally made to support The Payton Endowment Fund, we understand that donors may have specific passions that they would like to fund and we are delighted to help make those passions a reality.
15. What keeps CPS from controlling the funds in PPIE's endowment?
PPIE is a separate entity from CPS and also from Payton. PPIE is registered with the State of Illinois' Attorney General site for registered charities. CPS has no access to these funds.
16. How do you pronounce PPIE?
Just say it like the math symbol, |Pi|
17. How can I donate?
There are many ways to donate to PPIE - Please See Here