Briefly In Education

Crystal Cove hosts Family Art Club

Crystal Cove State Park will unite local professional artists with families under a tent at their weekly Family Art Club.

The club will meet from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Thursdays and will include beach watercolor journaling, marine life sculpture, photo mosaics and nature photography.

Cost is $35 for each parent-child pair ($30 for Crystal Cove Alliance members); additional children $15. Appropriate for visitors 7 and older.

Families will meet at the Crystal Cove Alliance headquarters, cottage No. 45 in the Historic District. For reservations, visit www.crystalcovealliance.org.

Club awarded enrichment grant

The Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach was recently granted $7,600 by a committee of State Street employees, which will provide supplies for the club’s core youth programs.

The art program engages young people in the arts in order to foster creativity, confidence and the capability to contribute to the world.

Gym Superstars, a new club program in the athletic department, gets kids up and moving, teaches them about healthy nutrition, and incorporates positive character development into fast and fun games.

The education/technology department teaches children computer skills by hosting fun projects such as a club newsletter, where children act as reporters and are responsible for the articles they write. Dragon Quest, a hands-on science program, and Culture Club, a program that teaches children about customs, music, games and foods of other countries also aim to make kids excited about learning.

“We are so grateful for State Street’s support both financially and in promoting their employees to volunteer at the club,” said Pamela Estes, executive director for the Boys & Girls Club.

State Street, one of the world’s leading providers of financial services to institutional investors, became involved with the club in 2007 when one of their employees, whose child participated in the club’s after-school program, shared how her child enjoyed the programs.

“State Street employees who were club members as children [know] the impact of having an active and enriching environment throughout their childhood. They are passionate about continuing to make an enriching environment available for today’s children,” said State Street representative Teresa Ashley.

For more information about the Boys & Girls Club, call Michelle Ray at (949) 494-2535 ext. 103.

SchoolPower names Emeritus Board

The SchoolPower Endowment has grown to more than $2 million, thanks to the generosity of parents, the community, local business and annual fundraising efforts, and a new Emeritus Board has been named to continue involvement with the fundraising effort.

In the last school year, Endowment donations to the district included a $50,000 Foreign Language Grant, part one of a 10-year, $500,000 commitment to support K-12 foreign language education; a $64,050 Simply Integrated Classroom Technology Grant which upgraded technology access for LBUSD students which helped move the district from worst to best among Orange County public schools, and $44,400 for 19 teacher grants that encourage innovation, imagination and excellence of teachers and staff by directly benefiting students in areas of science, literature, math, technology and art.

Building on the success of the SchoolPower effort established in 1981, an associated charitable foundation was established five years later to provide permanent endowment and capital funding for Laguna Beach public schools.

Providing a link between the leadership of previous Endowment members and current board members is the newly formed SchoolPower Endowment Emeritus Board, chaired by Michael Pinto. The board aims to capitalize on the experience of past board members to support the current efforts of the Endowment, in order to enhance the education provided by Laguna Beach public schools.

“Our original dream for a SchoolPower Endowment has grown beyond our expectations and leaves us with a great sense of satisfaction and hopefulness for the future,” Pinto said.

SchoolPower Endowment President Bill O’Hare said the Endowment will take full advantage of the talent and expertise of those who built the SchoolPower legacy.

“We hope that our Emeritus Board members will take full advantage of the opportunity to reconnect with old friends and with the Laguna Beach schools they worked so hard to support,” he said.

Robert Fraisse, district superintendent, said he is thankful for the board’s foresight.

“Leadership is such a valuable commodity to any organization that it just makes sense to maintain ties with former SchoolPower leaders and to avail ourselves of their wisdom applied to our current day challenges,” he said. “The Emeritus Board outreach effort is exactly the creative thinking that keeps an organization invigorated and successful.”