Vacaville Public Education Foundation outlines plans to distribute donations

Article Launched: 09/11/2005 07:53:16 AM

VPEF outlines plans to distribute donations

By Reporter Staff

Technology, after-school reading projects, music, sports and the GATE programs in Vacaville schools will get a $370,000 boost from community members this year.

The Vacaville Public Education Foundation this week outlined how it will award the fruits of its fundraising within the Vacaville Unified School District.

Funds were privately raised from numerous activities conducted by VPEF this year and from new efforts under way. Seventy-five teachers, parents, administrators and students serving on seven committees provided recommendations to the VPEF Board of Directors which made the final decisions.

The first round of grants from existing VPEF funds totals $246,500 and includes:

• $50,000 for the new Literacy and Math Coaches program in middle and high schools that the district created to help students meet state testing standards;

• $30,000 to increase the district's telcom bandwidth to greatly improve computer communications and allow all classrooms to access Internet-based educational resources;

• $11,000 for after-school reading intervention program at six elementary schools to help first-graders who are struggling to catch up with reading skills;

• $5,000 in initial funding to cover half of the cost of replacing computers in libraries and computer labs, subject to matching funds to be provided by school site councils or other sources;

• $7,500 for Saturday and week-night special enrichment programs in science, reading and math for GATE students;

• $10,000 in mini-grants to teachers;

• $16,000 to preserve middle school fall and winter sports programs for boys and girls at Willis Jepson and Vaca Pena schools;

• $19,000 to save freshman fall and winter sports for boys and girls at Will C. Wood and Vacaville high schools;

• $10,000 in start-up costs to initiate varsity sports at Buckingham Charter School;

• $50,000 to preserve elementary schools' general music program;

• $8,000 to hire campus monitors at middle schools for security and supervision;

• $7,000 for part-time counselors at middle and high schools to help with peak workload periods;

• $8,000 for part-time clerical assistance for counseling offices and middle and high schools during peak periods; and

• $15,000 for part-time clerk help in the front office of all district schools.

VPEF volunteers are conducting a car raffle to raise funds for more projects and they will be the recipients of proceeds from the Nugget Markets' Best of the Barrel event Sept. 23. They also launched their annual Family Campaign drive and continue with on-going fundraisers like McDonald's and Murrillo's family nights and the Showcase Properties donations.

Information about those events is on the foundation Web site, www.vpef.com.

If those events are as successful as planned, VPEF intends to award more grants totaling an additional $126,000, including:

• $50,000 more for the Literacy and Math Coaches program;

• $5,000 more for GATE enrichment events;

• $5,000 more for the library and computer lab purchase matching program;

• $11,000 more for first-grade reading intervention sessions;

• $9,000 for spring sports at the middle schools;

• $5,000 for spring freshman sports at the two high schools;

• $10,000 for music programs to be determined;

• $8,000 more for middle school campus monitors;

• $5,000 more for part-time counselors;

• $8,000 more for part-time clerical assistance in counseling offices; and

• $10,000 more for part-time clerical assistance in school offices.

"Thousands of people who made this possible with their donations and volunteer efforts should feel good about making a difference in our children's education," said foundation chairman John Thompson. "We have received hundreds of testimonials from teachers, parents and students that the programs VPEF has funded have been a big help."