track and field

Bill’s Word – Harvard, giving away money and other celebrations

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Dear Friends,

Student Success Stories
Want to know what Alameda student is going to Harvard?  Or which teams beat out ALL others in northern California, public or private, for the North Coast Section Academic Achievement Awards?  Then check out my first  blogpost on this topic on Alameda Patch.  It will be a regular feature and I encourage you to share success stories about students you know, current or graduate, via the comment section or by emailing info@alamedaeducation.org.

It’s important to remember why we work so hard and give so generously for our schools: the students.  And it’s nice to see it pay off.  Let’s get the word out about our amazing Alameda students!

Adopt A Classroom
Right alongside hearing about successful students, my favorite task as AEF president is making  Adopt A Classroom  presentations. As of this week, we will have made 84 Adopt A Classroom presentations this year, up from a total of 77 last year. Our last presentations will be in March and we remain hopeful about reaching our goal of 100.  Adopt A Classroom is such a wonderful program because it puts the $500 “adoption” donation directly into the hands of teachers (or program leaders) to use how they know is best for their unique classroom – no strings attached!  And while I know the teachers use the funds effectively, they do get some interesting suggestions from the students.  I invite you to read about some of these ideas and my experience with Adopt A Classroom on this blogpost .

Enrichment
I am so excited about how our  Enrichment program is growing under the direction of Enrichment Director, Sarah Olaes.  We are continuing to offer fun and educational programs to elementary and middle school students, such as dance, creative writing and woodworking, and we are starting to expand our offerings into more academic areas for middle school students and eventually high school students. More on those later, but for now, be sure to check out our Enrichment day camp on March 16th. No need to worry about child care on this non-student day as we are offering Mad Science, Drama and Music classes for elementary students. Click here for the details and registration information.

Middle School Sports
Forget the NBA, the exciting basketball games are right here in Alameda. This week begins the playoff games for our middle school basketball program with championships next week. It has been great having the addition of Nea/ACLC this year joining the Academy, Lincoln and Wood. And there have been some close and exciting games, too! Check out our web site for a complete playoff/championship schedule. And thank you to the  Boys & Girls Club who are providing the facilities for our playoff and championship games.

All Together Now
On February 28th, AEF will be presenting a check at the Board of Education meeting for funds earned from our  All Together Now  event on November 10, 2011.  In all, AEF will be distributing $35,000 to Alameda public schools – district and charter – to support school visual and performing arts programs. If you missed All Together Now last November, you won’t want to again – it is the funnest and tastiest way to raise money for schools!  Take a look at this slideshow  from last year.

Salute to Education
Mark your calendars!  On Friday, April 13th, 6 – 9 pm at Rock Wall Winery, we will be hosting our 29th annual  Salute to Education  event AND celebrating AEF’s 30th birthday!  Salute to Education is a community event that honors innovative programming in our schools and the people who make them possible.  We get together in a relaxed, celebratory setting to share best practices, network and socialize.  Guests enjoy light hors d’oeuvres, wine and award winning music from Alameda and Encinal High Schools.  All against the magnificent backdrop of the San Francisco skyline.  Tickets are just $25 in advance and can be purchased by clicking on our “Buy Ticket Now” button.  Additional food purchases will be available from the popular le truc food truck.

Shop 4 Education
The Foundation is deeply appreciative of the support local businesses give to our schools.  Several have signed on to be Shop 4 Education partners with AEF whereby they donate a portion of sales to AEF. I urge you to consider them for your shopping needs. For instance, it really might rain some time this year and when it does, will you be ready? Beethoven’s Gutter Works is one of our partners that can take care of those gutters for you. Want to take advantage of historic low interest rates and refinance? Then you’ll want to check out what Rick Weber can do for you at First Priority Financial. And congratulations to fitness guru and Shop 4 Education partner Ada Wells of ProBalance who has opened a second location of her physical therapy, pilates and sports rehabilitation studio at 2213 Harbor Bay Parkway.

Congratulations to our outstanding students and thanks to all of you for supporting AEF in its mission of Supporting Student Success!