For decades, Betty Harman Warner inspired children to read as a teacher. She also imbued in her own children the importance of education for all, with an emphasis on helping those who have fallen behind in reading.
Her son, Will, and his wife, Cheryl, have carried that legacy forward through two funds at the Community Foundation.
This year, the Harman Family Scholarship Fund awarded its first scholarships: four high school graduates each received a $5,000-per-year scholarship to attend college.
Recipients enrolled in prestigious institutions such as Princeton University, Barnard College of Columbia University, and the University of Florida this fall.
The Harmans sat in during the selection interviews and found it difficult to narrow down the list of potential scholarship winners. “They were all very well qualified,” said Cheryl. Most of the students were either first-generation Americans or the first in their family to attend college.
Harman Warner taught at the school in the late 1960s and introduced a pioneering remedial reading program there. So, when the Harmans decided that they wanted to honor her memory, they spoke with Rona Tata, the school’s principal. She steered them to the UN program.
It involves year-long classroom or after-school study and culminates with fourth- and fifth-graders traveling to the United Nations in New York City to present.
Through the program, students learn about government and different cultures, and they apply reading, research, writing, and communication skills, and develop critical thinking skills by addressing a current global issue or world problem.
The fund will cover travel and lodging for the students and teachers, making the trip possible for more students, some of whom can’t afford to pay for the trip otherwise.
This fall, the couple opened the center with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Palm Beach County School District and Community Foundation dignitaries.
“We’ve always been committed to education,” Will said. “My mom drove that home with me, and Cheryl feels the same way. So, when we get ready to do some charity, we always lean toward education.”
The Harmans’ hope for the funds stretches beyond the life-changing impacts it will have on individual students.
