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Photograph by Skye Dunlap
Led by chairs Joanne Laird, Michael Kalisvaart, Brian Dong and Harry Bettencourt, the Fremont Union High School District gears up to host the 64th annual National Association of Student Councils Conference. In June 2000 more than 1,500 students from around the country, and internationally, will flock to Monta Vista High School for the five-day leadership convention.
FUHSD hosts $750,000 conference
By Michelle Ku
If you can dream it, you can do it. That's the premise that the Fremont Union High School District is working from in planning the 64th annual National Association of Student Councils (NASC) Conference.
In June, more than 1,500 students from across the country, and internationally, will flock to Monta Vista High School for a five-day conference developing and encouraging student leadership. Students will stay with host families as they attend workshops throughout the day.
Headed up by district representatives, Harry Bettencourt student and community services director, and Joanne Laird, assistant principal at Monta Vista, and Monta Vista seniors Brian Dong and Michael Kalisvaart, a team of parent and student volunteers are organizing the national event.
"This is a student conference and they are making all the decisions," said Laird, conference co-chair.
During the conference, Dong, Kalisvaart and the two program coordinator co-chairs--Vicky Ho and David Low--will act as the masters and mistresses of ceremonies.
Out of the five schools in the district, Monta Vista is hosting the conference because it has been Laird's dream ever since she attended her first NASC Conference in 1989.
"The minute I walked into the gym for the general session and I saw fireworks, I said, 'We need to do that,'" Laird said.
Photograph by Susan Black
Brian Dong, a senior at Monta Vista High School, lights a candle for district administrators Joanne Laird and Harry Bettencourt.
No school in California has stepped forward to host the NASC Conference since 1963 and this will only be the second time it's been in the state.
The district was awarded the conference in 1996. Four schools applied to host the 1998, 1999 and 2000 events with FUHSD asking for the 1999 conference.
"They gave us 2000 because they wanted to be in California for the turn of the century," Laird said.
Since the district was given the go-ahead from the NASC national staff, it's been off to the races for the district's team.
"At this stage of the planning it seems most of the problem is financing," Kalisvaart said.
Last fall, Dong and Kalisvaart embarked on a quest to solicit donations to help fund the conference. Jokingly called the "Bacon and Eggs Circuit," they attended breakfasts at local companies, clubs and nonprofit organizations.
The NASC national staff has given the district approximately $400,000 to finance the conference, but the district needs to raise another $350,000 to host the conference it.
"[The national staff] pays for the bare bones," Laird said. "National doesn't give money for the perks, the backpacks or T-shirts for the delegates. Whatever a school can do to fundraise for a bigger and better conference is the challenge."
Much of the conference's costs will be incurred in transportation and evening activities planned for the student and adult delegates.
"The county is a big area, and we have to get buses to pick students up from their host families," Kalisvaart said.
During their four-day stay in the Silicon Valley, students will visit Great America, Seacliff Beach and Stanford University for a candlelighting ceremony and international night. Events scheduled for adults include a trip to San Francisco to see Beach Blanket Babylon and Pier 39, The Tech Museum of Innovation and a local winery.
"It's not thought to be like a vacation, but the places they take you to [for the evening events] are supposed to represent the state," Dong said. "We feel we should give them a true California experience. We want to go out above and beyond a normal conference."
Jan. 1, 2000, is the designated cut-off date when the district will begin cutting back on its plans for the conference if not enough money has been raised, Dong said.
In addition to funding, the district is seeking more host families. The district has approximately half of the 375 to 400 families needed to house the student delegates. Each home will be given three or more students to house.
Past conferences have not had half the host families they needed until January, Laird said.
"We're not afraid of finding host families," Dong said. "It's still early and people are still organizing their schedules."
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
