Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Third-graders Brett Krouskup (left) and Brandon Barnett show each other what they've discovered after dissecting owl pellets in Blossom Hill School's science lab.

Foundation for Success

Hard work and a generous community take educational foundation over the $1 million mark

By Shari Kaplan

This is a big year for the Los Gatos Elementary Educational Foundation. Not only will the group turn 15 this year, but it has now surpassed the $1 million mark in funds raised for supplemental programs in the Los Gatos Union School District.

Among the bonuses funded partially or wholly by LGEEF funds are elementary school science labs, computer labs and aides, physical education equipment, Fisher Middle School's Teaching and Tutoring program, Triad on-campus counseling, music and art programs, teacher mini-grants and community service projects such as parent education seminars. The majority of donations are generated from two annual fundraisers: the fall Phone-a-Thon and a special event each spring.

To celebrate a 112 decades of student enrichment and the people who made it possible, LGEEF hosts "Thanks a Million," a community picnic and party June 1 on the Los Gatos High School lawn.

From 12:30 to 6 p.m., families and friends can eat, mingle and be entertained by elementary school music students, the Fisher Middle School Jazz Band and the Joe Sharino Band. Those attending may bring picnic lunches or purchase food and drinks from the Van Meter School Dad's Club and the LGHS Band. For $100, individuals can purchase raffle tickets for a 1997 GMC Suburban sport utility vehicle, which one ticketholder will drive away from the picnic.

It takes a different kind of drive to form and maintain an organization like LGEEF, which incorporated as a nonprofit group on Nov. 15, 1982. Some of the nine signers of the articles of incorporation are still involved with the school system or the community, including John Baggerly, Dr. Heidi Evers, Kay Geoffrey, Robert Huckell, Janet Jacobson, Carol Musser, Thomas O'Donnell, Louis Purcell and Elaine White.

The primary motive these people had in forming an educational foundation, past president Steve Wernecke explains, was to supplement the dwindling dollars available to schools following the passage of California's Proposition 13.

O'Donnell, current president of the LGUSD Board of Trustees and a practicing attorney, looked into the legal aspects of forming an educational foundation and also drew up the articles of incorporation. He said he was very interested in helping form the foundation after being impressed by what he read about other school districts' success with similar endeavors.

"It was a real learning experience for all of us, but it was a very pleasant experience. Here in Los Gatos, there are so many great people who value education," he says. "It's easier when you have a small district because everybody knows everybody else, and you can see where your money is going."

"I think Los Gatos is a unique place. People take pride in living here and take pride in our schools and students," O'Donnell adds.

Wernecke, a LGEEF member for many years, says the group seems to be heading toward an interesting crossroads--too big to be small but too small to be big.

Of all such organizations in California, Wernecke says, the California Consortium of Educational Foundations has ranked LGEEF in the top 10 percent in terms of funds raised. At the same time, he says one of the best things about the foundation is that it's still small enough that people know each other and take an active role in one or more aspects of the organization.

"You're sort of overwhelmed with the feeling that you're making the community better. It takes a fair amount of time, but it's well worth the payoff," he says.

Current LGEEF vice president Christine Nichols agrees. "We have a working board; there's no fluff. With only 20 people on the board, everybody is responsible for something," she says.

"A lot of us baby boomers want our kids to have at least the same amount of enrichment we had growing up. The things the foundation funds are things that were regular parts of our education," Nichols adds. Her own daughter's interest in science, Nichols says, was sparked after attending the science labs.

Each of the LGUSD's four elementary schools employs a "science lab specialist" to prepare lessons and projects for students, who visit the labs on a rotating basis according to grade level. At Blossom Hill School, specialist Sherrill Downey has found LGEEF funding invaluable in her efforts to make science fun and approachable.

"It's really important for young kids to learn they can manipulate their world to find things out. It's important to have a hands-on atmosphere for them to just fuss around and learn how and why things work and happen," says Downey, a Los Gatos resident and biochemist by education.

The science program comprises three different units each year and includes branches of science such as biology, botany, ecology, paleontology, chemistry and physics, scaled down to a kids' level of understanding. Each grade has its own age-appropriate manuals, with increasing emphasis placed on the scientific method in the upper grades.

"You name it; they've had it. It really whets their appetites for science. They come in and don't want to leave," Downey says.

Among recent science projects were pinhole cameras, fossil-making with plaster of Paris along with an archaeological dig, recycled-papermaking, owl-pellet dissection to learn about the birds' diet, breaking up visible light with prisms and harnessing the sun's energy with solar ovens to bake cookies.

The Teaching and Tutoring program at Fisher Middle School is similar to a lab in that it offers students a place where they can study, learn or get help. In existence since 1989, TNT runs before and after school every day except Friday, when it only takes place in the morning.

Students can use the school's library, learning arcade or certain designated classrooms to do homework, work on projects, read, use a computer, take makeup exams or receive help on academic subjects from high school aides or teachers--all paid for their teaching, tutoring and supervising services.

"There's always a need for some kids to get extra assistance. This gives them a safe, quiet place to come," says Los Gatan Kim Easter, who served as TNT's director from its inception until the fall of 1995, when Jane Herberich took over.

"The whole point is to serve the school, the teachers and the community, and fill a niche that needed to be filled. It's an upward cycle that sets up good study skills. It gives them a fun and directed place to do homework," Easter adds, explaining that when students understand and complete assignments, it increases their self-confidence, thereby encouraging them to continue doing well.

Easter says TNT is also a good way for teachers to save time. Teachers can leave a makeup test with TNT staff with the knowledge that the test will be administered when the student comes in, rather than teachers using their breaks or lunchtime to give tests. Easter estimates TNT serves more than 100 students each day.

The on-campus counseling and referral services provided by Triad Community Services on a contract basis also benefit many LGUSD students. Triad's three-pronged goal consists of prevention, intervention and treatment of a wide range of problems and issues affecting children, including substance abuse, physical abuse, divorce, death or pressure to succeed.

"They [LGEEF] help us out greatly and have for years; we're extremely appreciative of that," says Andrea Woods, Triad's clinical coordinator who also does on-campus counseling.

"Their funding, in collaboration with the other funding we get, allows us to provide counseling services to both children and their families who really need it. That includes parenting classes, ongoing consultation services and interaction with the school staffs. We also do referral and assessment services."

The Art Docents of Los Gatos, Inc., is another district program that receives some of its funding from LGEEF. Since 1973, the Art Docents have provided a sequential program in the visual arts for students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Volunteers bring art pieces and other items into classrooms and lead workshops and presentations on art appreciation--including history, criticism and aesthetics--as well as art techniques.

The docents also offer in-depth classroom presentations on a handful of art-related topics as well as special hands-on workshops where students can sample from a menu of media including watercolors, tempera paints, pastels, pencils, ink, conte crayons, clay and foil. While having fun, students learn the elements of art (color, line, shape and texture) and principles of art (including pattern, rhythm and balance).

Funded in part by LGEEF contributions are the school district's general music programs. Taught by part-time music teachers, the programs run from eight to 10 weeks and offer children music appreciation, singing and note-reading activities, among other things.

According to Kay McDonald, district director of special education and special projects, the district recently received an allocation of $20,000 from LGEEF to continue the music program. The LGUSD Board of Trustees has since approved another half-time music teacher position. The LGUSD also offers musical instrument lessons to fifth-graders and middle- schoolers, but these activities are funded by monies from the district's parcel tax.

A handful of teachers receive minigrants each year from LGEEF's coffers to help fund innovative and creative programs that they might otherwise not be able to carry out. These have included books, learning games, audio tapes, videotapes, computer software and physical education items.

Although the Los Gatos Elementary Educational Foundation covers a broad range of activities, it all comes down to enriching students, who represent the future. As Nichols explains it, if one or more of these programs can "turn on a light bulb" for a child who might not get turned on otherwise, the foundation has accomplished its goal. "It's a 'warm fuzzy' feeling knowing that you're helping kids get what they need," she says.

For more information about LGEEF, call the LGUSD district office at 395-5570.

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