EAST PROVIDENCE – Thanks to two alumni parents, The Gordon School has received the largest donation in its 114-year history.
The independent K-8 school announced Tuesday that it received a $2 million gift from Chip and Amanda Riegel. The gift, Gordon School says, will help bolster the school’s financial foundation and further ongoing development with its faculty staff via the school’s Riegel Family “Care for Our Own” Fund.
Also, the school says $250,000 from the gift is earmarked for its new Lynn Bowman Fund for Excellence in Teaching and Learning initiative to support workforce development at the school. The fund is named after a Gordon School teacher who founded its Civil Rights trip and mentored scores of young teachers through Gordon’s Teacher Residency Program, the school says.
“We could not be more grateful for this extraordinary act of generosity,” Gordon School Head of School Noni Thomas López said in a statement. “While it is the largest monetary gift in the school’s history, it represents just one chapter of the ongoing story of the Riegel family’s belief in and commitment to Gordon School since the moment they arrived on the campus 15 years ago. From that day onward, Chip and Amanda have woven themselves into the life of the school in dozens of ways, all with an earnest desire to respond to the needs of all members of our community.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X at @James_Bessette.