Endowment flourishes when state funds wilt
Cupertino Educational Endowment Foundation holds floral-themed student rally to promote, fund programs
By William Jeske
The Cupertino Educational Endowment Foundation held a floral-and-blossoms-themed rally on April 4 to promote the foundation's projects that try to keep elementary students from developing compost for brains.
The 90-minute event, held in the afternoon at Garden Gate School, spotlighted the CEEF's work at promoting and funding programs on cultural arts and information literacy within the Cupertino Union School District.
The campus' colorful General Learning Center, complete with a library, practice rooms and a few computer labs filled with iMacs, acted also as an assembly room.
"We have dedicated teachers that are trained in these areas so that every single one of our children has the opportunity to experience art and music--to be a performer," Superintendent Bill Bragg said during the opening address. "Whether or not they're going to end up being that in their future lives is not important. What's important is that they have that experience during these very formative ages. And we at CEEF think this is an exciting effort that we are embarking upon that will allow us to create an endowment that will forever protect these kinds of programs from the whims and ups and downs of state funding."
Fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders from Garden Gate and from DeVargas elementary schools sported white T-shirts and alternating green or yellow neckerchiefs as they took to a small stage.
The students sung and danced a series of routines under the orchestration of Grainne O'Flynn and Joanne Rose, whom the event agenda cited as "Lead Horticulturists." The rally was to entertain parents and entice prospective beneficiaries to contribute to the CEEF's goal of reaching $6 million.
CEEF founder Bob Hall said he saw a desperate need for a fundraising institution in 1984. He held a position with the school board at the time and saw a need to find funding for the district's endangered music and arts programs since state funds weren't enough. And, according to Hall, they still aren't.
"The one thing I can't help but mention about the whole school-funding business is that they [the state] never put it right," Hall said. "The school gets about $4 an hour for everything. That pays for the buildings, for whatever the transportation is, the teachers, the maintenance, the books."
Hall said the fund has so far raised only $4 million. Hall calculates that an additional $2 million is needed in order to ensure that all 20 public elementary campuses in Cupertino have art and information programs.
The Information Literacy program is relatively new. To illustrate just how much computers and the Internet will play a role in a child's education--especially as soon as elementary school--the rally included a segment called "Sprouting Spielbergs."
Under the guidance of Harlin Hansen, an Information Literacy Resource Teacher for the district, a pair of second-graders screened a documentary they had filmed and edited using the Macintosh platform's iMovie application. The short film titled "Making Music in Cupertino," chronicled the rehearsals and interviews with students about the CEEF rally.
"In maybe five years or so, students may use [moviemaking applications] for school reports," Hansen said to the crowd. "It won't be just on paper anymore. They may be given a digital camera to take home or to a fieldtrip to do reports."
Later, Hansen clarified his prediction.
"Just looking ahead to technology and where we're going ... Think back to five or seven years ago to where the Internet was and how many students were using the Internet to how many are using it now," he said. "I just think this is one technology that has the potential to be used in the future in reports and in student projects."
CEEF says that among its contributors is Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley, a nonprofit organization founded in 1997 whose mission is, according to its website, "to advance the vitality of Silicon Valley through ... quality arts education in our public schools." CEEF cites that CISV is granting up to $400,000 over the next two years.
One of CEEF's recent corporate beneficiaries is National Semiconductor of Santa Clara, whose National Semiconductor Foundation contributed a corporate gift of $200,000 in November. In partnering with CEEF, the company will also offer for three years to train teachers in using the Internet as a teaching tool.
Cupertino, California Since 1947
