Photo: Dancing the night away: The return of the annual Foundation for Belmont Edcuation gala

High rollers and haute couture mingled in the Jordan Athletic Center at the Belmont Hill School for games of chance and Indian cuisine as the Foundation for Belmont Education hosted “Casino Night” on Saturday, March 22.

The return of the popular annual fundraising gala – last held in 2021 – saw the basketball court transformed into a casino and a dance floor, with a sit down a la carte dinner making it a super fun night out with folks who support the future of Belmont public schools. Patrons were treated with a raffle, on-line and silent auctions and games with dancing to boot. Melissa McKenna and Maria Olajangu, FBE co-presidents, hosted the night’s events that proved to be an outstanding night of fundraising for the commuity’s educators.

The gala’s main speaker was Josh Streit, Belmont High School educator who was last year’s FBE Outstanding Teacher Award winner. Streit told the audience that amoung the myriad of roles a teach has, there is one that stands out: the role of support. “How can I best support my students? How can I support their learning, their development. and their emotional well being.”

Streit said he sees the FBE in the same way, while it plays many important roles in our community and in our schools, “the most significant thing the FBE does is support” with summer grants, recognition, and classroom materials.

“But beyond this material support, it’s the feeling of knowing that there’s a community behind me, whether that’s the FBE or my colleagues, that truely makes a difference,” he said.

“We all want to feel supported, to know that we have someone behind us, rooting for us. And that’s what the FBE does for educators in this district.”

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