Here’s a great story from Kristen Smeal, Middle School Technology (Grades 6-8) teacher at the Academy of Alameda:
“What a fun year! We were able to purchase 3D printers for our Technology program and they provided so many fun opportunities. I had students who were not even in my classes stop by just to look at the printers. It was really cute!
I thought I’d send along a photo of the 3D mini city ‘Olympianville’
Marissa Nowlan, a Nea Community Learning Center 1st Grade Teacher, was in need of special seating for some of her students. She wrote “I have four students, two of whom have extremely high needs, that enjoy being in beanbags in the library. I’d wanted to purchase some as a means to give a calm and safe place for regulation for when these students have overstimulating moments. The beanbags have been the biggest blessing this school year!
Ms. Candice Camp is an Instructional Coach working with K-5th, multilingual English learners across the District. She wanted to help English learners at school reclassification ceremonies celebrate and be proud of the hard work it takes to become ‘reclassified’ with a t-shirt that says “Multilingualism is my Superpower”.
Reclassification for English Language Learners (ELL) means that a student is officially recognized as having achieved sufficient proficiency in English to no longer require special language support services.
For many of our students, visiting a college campus is not always an option. Having the opportunity to tour a campus often has a transformational impact on students’ knowledge and awareness of college life, and helps inspire their future educational path.
Lee Kaplan, Encinal High School College & Career Counselor wrote:
“Forty-four Encinal students visited Sacramento State on March 4th. We were able to take a campus tour, visit the recreation center,
» Read more about: Encinal High Students Visit Sacramento State »
Thank you, Julia and all AEF members, for your generous support to our grade level and my class with all that you do for our students and our special community. In these tricky times, I am especially appreciative of the timely and very teacher-friendly grants you provided this 2024-’25 school year. AEF’s fundraising and grant writing allowed all three of our classes to experience Berkeley Rep’s award winning Storybuilders program where over a 10-week period an artist visited our classrooms to develop a play from scratch.
To all the amazing folks at AEF,
Thank you so much for all the support you’ve given 3rd grade at Love Elementary this year. Your generous and well-timed grants have really made a huge difference—and honestly, made things a lot easier for us teachers!
Because of AEF, we got to take part in Berkeley Rep’s ‘Storybuilders‘ program, which was such a cool experience. It gave the students a fun way to build skills in storytelling,
“Using our AEF Teacher Mini Grant, we were able to hold an amazing and educational event where local drag queens presented on queer history in the Bay Area! Many students came to learn and ask questions about queer experiences and culture. They learned about ethical fashion and how these performers create fabulous looks, all while being environmentally conscious.”
“Thank you so much for your support!”
» Read more about: Students Learn About Bay Area Queer History »
Every year AUSD teaches all 10th graders Teen Mental Health...
