School Board Wrap-Up

The following is from the June 9 meeting of the Laguna Beach Board of Education.

SchoolPower annual gift

Jeff Spurlock, outgoing president of SchoolPower, presented a “big check” to the district in the amount of $250,000, the organization’s annual gift.

Spurlock said he was relieved the organization was able to raise the funds in a difficult economic time.

“It was a difficult year but we fulfilled our $250,000 annual gift,” he said.

“It was touch and go but we made it, and gave $365,000 total for the year,” Spurlock said.

He added that the presentation was “bittersweet” for him personally because he is leaving the post “” and Laguna Beach “” to take a position in New Zealand.

Grants included:

$50,000 for foreign languages, part of a 10-year, $500,000 commitment;

$64,050 for completion of the Simply Integrated technology program; and

$15,000 for summer school.

SchoolPower teacher grants

SchoolPower also presented $44,000 in teacher grants for specific projects, totaling 19 in all:

?El Morro Elementary received grants for an interactive program called “Science Court;” for the Art & Sea Adventures program; and for a reading project.

?Top of the World Elementary was granted funding for a first grade trip to the Discovery Science Center; second-grade book purchases; an enhanced curriculum website for the fourth grade; and a Mind Institute program in math for grades one to four.

?Thurston Middle School received a scholarship for Mandarin language studies; for “instant technology” to enable teachers to communicate remotely with students; and a $5,000 grant to send 197 sixth-graders to science camp at Catalina Island.

?Laguna Beach High School received a summer school expansion grant; and the popular Girls Night Out program is to be expanded next year through grant funding.

The school also got funds for new microscopes; an interactive program called History Alive; new digital cameras for the graphic arts department; and T-shirts for the screen printing class. Grants will also pay for an upgrade in the weight room.

Certificates were presented by the respective school principles to the teachers who received the grants.

PTA posts ‘volunteer hours’

Not to be outdone, Kerry Rubel, outgoing president of the PTA Council, presented a “check” for $1 million in volunteer hours that have been tallied up at 50,000 hours for the school year from members of the PTA.

Sister City success story

Board member Betsy Jenkins reported that students have been found in Menton, France, to participate in a cross-cultural exchange with Laguna Beach students through the Sister City program.

“The phone calls to France paid off, and we have an enthusiastic elementary school principal and some other contacts,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins had told the board in a prior meeting that student projects intended for a cross-cultural exchange were sitting idle because they had not found participants in the Sister City to receive them.