Recent Grantmaking : Education

Regarded by the Oakland Unified School District as a model community school, Alternatives in Action was asked to assist out two others to build out their programs, one in East Oakland and one in West Oakland. The organization now coordinates all three full-service schools in partnership with school staff, youth, parents, and partner organizations. These campuses serve more than 600 high school students, many of whose families live below the poverty level. Students and their families benefit from health services, counseling, robust after-school programs, and academic supports to supplement classroom learning.
Grant Amount: $50,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 07/06/2011 through 07/06/2012
Project Web Site: www.alternativesinaction.org

Bay Area Parent Leadership Action Network unites parent-serving organizations to provide training, leadership development, and assistance organizing in public schools. Its intensive capacity-building training, called PLAN to Lead, prepares organizations and schools to work with and develop parent leaders within their communities. PLAN also offers a six-week training that teaches parents of young children to advocate for their rights in the public education system. It contracts with school districts to engage parents in school improvement efforts, disseminates information about educational policy, and works on statewide education policy issues.
Grant Amount: $60,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 07/06/2011 through 07/06/2012
Project Web Site: www.parentactionnet.org

Bay Area Parent Leadership Action Network (PLAN) addresses a lack of resources for parents working to improve public schools. PLAN prepares organizations to develop parent leaders, provides technical assistance to family support programs, and teaches low-income and immigrant families how they can participate in the public school system. With assistance from the Fund, PLAN is launching a parent-led campaign that focuses on giving parents of color greater capacity to engage in public school improvement.
Grant Amount: $60,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 07/06/2010 through 07/06/2011
Project Web Site: www.parentactionnet.org

Californians for Justice Education Fund organizes students and parents, locally and statewide, to help increase education funding and distribute it equitably. It works to improve the quality of education for underserved and disadvantaged students. The organization played a key role in drafting and passing an Oakland Unified School District policy that requires all students to take the courses required to attend a four-year university and it continues to monitor this policy's implementation. For these ongoing efforts, the organization receives Walter & Elise Haas support.
Grant Amount: $40,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 12/14/2010 through 12/14/2011

Fiscal Sponsor: Regents of the University of California
Center for Cities and Schools facilitates collaboration between local governments and school districts to improve Bay Area public schools and their communities. Over the last three years, the Center supported partnerships in San Francisco, Oakland, Emeryville, Berkeley, and Richmond with research, education, and policy-making assistance. Projects included sharing school facilities with community members, involving students in city planning, and developing a school campus, adjacent to affordable housing, that offers comprehensive services. General operating support from the Fund helps the Center to extend its program to additional Bay Area municipalities and to deepen its work with current partners.
Grant Amount: $100,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 04/02/2010 through 04/02/2011
Project Web Site: citiesandschools.berkeley.edu

Education organizing group Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth engages parents and youth in efforts to improve San Francisco public schools. In 2009, participants successfully lobbied for the adoption of a San Francisco Unified School District policy that requires every high school student to take the courses needed to attend the University of California or California State University. General operating support from the fund helps Coleman Advocates to monitor and support implementation of this new policy and to train parents at six focus schools with high percentages of African American and Latino students to become more involved in school-improvement efforts.
Grant Amount: $60,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 04/02/2010 through 04/02/2011
Project Web Site: www.colemanadvocates.org

Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth engages parents and youth in improving San Francisco public schools. Members worked within the San Francisco Unified School District to implement a policy that requires every public high school student to take the courses needed to attend California's universities. Its organizing and leadership efforts continue to ensure the district is held accountable for implementing the policy and to provide the community support crucial to the policy's success. The Fund provides Coleman Advocates with general operating support so that the organization can continue to narrow the achievement gap.
Grant Amount: $60,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 04/04/2011 through 04/04/2012
Project Web Site: www.colemanadvocates.org

Fiscal Sponsor: Public Interest Projects
Education funding, teacher quality, and community engagement in education improvement efforts: these are the priorities of Communities for Public Education Reform (CPER) California, part of Public Interests Projects. CPER California supports education non-profits working to improve student outcomes in low-income communities in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and across the state. Grants from the project facilitate collaboration and capacity building in participating groups. The Walter & Elise Haas Fund supports the organization by joining its funding collaborative.
Grant Amount: $40,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 12/13/2010 through 12/13/2011

Community Alliance for Learning recruits and trains community volunteers to work one-on-one with students, helping with English writing assignments. This WriterCoach Connection program held 13,208 regular sessions with students in 72 East Bay schools during the 2009-10 school year. Students served by the program show impressive gains in writing skills. Support from the Fund allows the organization to expand into additional Oakland schools in 2011.
Grant Amount: $25,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 12/14/2010 through 12/14/2011

Fiscal Sponsor: Women Make Movies
A Community Concern is a film about organizing efforts that parents, youth, and community leaders led to improve the quality of public schools in Oakland, New York, and Boston. The Fund supported the film maker's development of an outreach plan and an accompanying curriculum that uses the film to share the lessons learned during organizing. Working in partnership with a Bay Area educator, the project strives to encourage school reform.
Grant Amount: $15,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 08/26/2010 through 08/26/2011

A group of San Francisco parents, frustrated with diminishing funding for their children’s public schools, organized Educate Our State. Their initial public event drew 1,000 people and presented an opportunity to mobilize other parents. The group expanded its work to the state level in order to tackle fiscal reform, coordinating its efforts with groups representing other constituents. This grant from the Fund supported Educate Our State’s organizing training in Los Angeles, which drew parents from across California.
Grant Amount: $5,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 09/23/2011 through 12/15/2011
Project Web Site: www.educateourstate.org/

Mission Graduates works to increase the number of Mission neighborhood students who graduate from high school and go on to attend college. The organization offers school-based programs that reach 1,100 youth and their families each year, helping them access educational services. The Fund supports Mission Graduates’ training of Mission "parent promotores" to serve on English Learner Advisory Committees at their children’s schools and deliver college awareness workshops to other parents. In this capacity, parents support educational improvements for English-language learners.
Grant Amount: $40,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 09/29/2011 through 09/29/2012
Project Web Site: www.missiongraduates.org/

Mission Graduates works to increase the number of students in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco who graduate high school and attend college. A grant from the W&EHF supports the organization's Parent Partner program, which trains parents to serve on English Learner Advisory Committees and helps them encourage educational improvements for English language learners. Parents also learn to deliver college awareness workshops to their peers using a home visit model.
Grant Amount: $40,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 07/16/2010 through 07/16/2011

Oakland Kids First is a youth development organization for high school students. It responded when student leaders identified a lack of college counselors as an impediment to their attaining eligibility for University of California and California State universities. Oakland Kids First's PASS-2 program trains peer counselors on graduation requirements, the college application process, and transcript literacy. This general operating grant from the Fund supports extending the organization's work to additional Oakland Unified School District high schools so that more students can attend college.
Grant Amount: $35,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 08/26/2010 through 08/26/2011

Oakland Schools Foundation garners resources for small public schools, helping a network of them to build their family-engagement programs collaboratively. The Foundation raised funds to support its network while they convened regular meetings for representatives from the nine participating schools. Network members saw substantial gains in family engagement and this resulted in increased resources, technical support, and collaboration among principals and staff. Through its work, the Oakland Schools Foundation established itself as a valuable resource for cultivating community engagement.
Grant Amount: $60,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 07/06/2011 through 07/06/2012
Project Web Site: www.oaklandschoolsfoundation.org

Oakland Schools Foundation encourages schools to fundraise and develop collaboratively. Previously, its efforts helped a network of schools grow their family-engagement programs substantially, resulting in increased resources, technical support, and collaboration among principals and staff. The Foundation now needs to increase its capacity to reach more schools and to coordinate its efforts with school district reforms. The Fund continues to support its family-engagement work and as well as its internal capacity building.
Grant Amount: $60,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 07/06/2010 through 07/06/2011
Project Web Site: www.oaklandschoolsfoundation.org

Fiscal Sponsor: Community Initiatives
Parent Advisory Council (PAC) provides a formal mechanism for parents to participate in shaping education policy in the San Francisco Unified School District. The Council engages parents in the school board's decision-making process, represents parents' concerns, and supports parents' participation in school governance. PAC, with Fund support, aims to overhaul ten SFUSD schools identified by the State as "persistently underperforming" by developing new governance structures and expanding promising programs.
Grant Amount: $50,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 07/06/2010 through 07/06/2011
Project Web Site: www.pacsf.org

Fiscal Sponsor: Community Initiatives
Parent Advisory Council gives parents a formal mechanism for influencing the San Francisco Unified School District’s education policy. In 2010, the Council facilitated conversations about policies that affect the district—engaging parents in discussions, identifying suggestions for improving schools, and representing parent perspectives to shape district initiatives. During 2011, Council members will identify critical issues including aligning the district’s core curriculum, redesigning how the district delivers special education services, and implementing reforms to improve persistently underperforming schools. Through the Council, parents receive information about important reforms such as these, and are able to add their voices to decision-making processes.
Grant Amount: $50,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 07/06/2011 through 07/06/2012
Project Web Site: www.pacsf.org

Parent Institute for Quality Education promotes parent involvement in schools through a program that helps parents understand the critical role they play in education and the importance of expressing high expectations to their children. The program also covers how to establish open communications with school staff and navigate the school system, and outlines the requirements for college eligibility. Parent Institute will provide training to Oakland parents, to help them navigate the public school system and help their children improve their academic performance.
Grant Amount: $20,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 09/28/2010 through 09/28/2011

Parents for Public Schools is a prominent supporter of public education in San Francisco and an indispensable organization for parents seeking information about public schools. It engages and informs parents about the school system and prepares them to lead change within the district. Each year it tackles timely issues, providing information and training about the district’s efforts in its lowest-performing sites. Over 2012-13, the organization plans to build its network of public school parents, encourage public school enrollment, and develop parent leaders. Staff will also continue in their role as central players in public school reform efforts.
Grant Amount: $100,000 [2011] , $100,000 [2012]
Project Dates: 11/18/2011 through 11/18/2012
Project Web Site: www.ppssf.org

Parents for Public Schools is a prominent supporter of public education in San Francisco. It strives to engage and inform parents about the public school system and to prepare them to drive change within classrooms, schools, and districts. In 2011, Parents for Public Schools plans to build and maintain a network of current and prospective public school parents, to encourage public school enrollment, and to develop parent leaders across San Francisco. The Fund provides general operating support to help the organization and its members improve the quality of public education in San Francisco.
Grant Amount: $100,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 11/22/2010 through 11/22/2011
Project Web Site: www.ppssf.org

Nationwide, there is growing interest in changing teacher compensation to better reflect the needs of districts and schools. With the implementation of the Quality Teacher and Education Act (QTEA), the San Francisco Unified School District took a step toward increasing and restructuring teacher compensation. In 2011, Policy Analysis for California Education is conducting year two of a three-year evaluation to investigate how each element of the QTEA policy affects teacher outcomes. This includes assessing teacher recruitment, retention, and overall teaching skill.
Grant Amount: $25,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 05/31/2011 through 05/31/2012
Project Web Site: www.stanford.edu/group/pace/cgi-bin/wordpress/

Reading Partners offers quality literacy intervention programs to low-income students in some of the most challenged schools in California. Last year, volunteer tutors assisted 855 students, bringing 64% of them up to grade level in reading. Reading Partners operates a dedicated classroom where volunteers provide individualized instruction to struggling readers using a structured, research-based curriculum and carefully selected books. The Fund's grant helps the organization provide tutoring in Oakland and San Francisco public schools.
Grant Amount: $30,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 02/23/2010 through 02/23/2011
Project Web Site: www.readingpartners.org

Reading Partners offers literacy-intervention programs to low-income students in some of the most challenged schools in California. On standardized assessments, 64% of students who were behind grade level in reading when they started the Reading Partners program had completely caught up by the end of the first year. At each of its schools, Reading Partners has a dedicated classroom where volunteers work one-on-one with struggling readers, teaching them skills, comprehension, and a love for reading. Tutors commit to work in the centers for one year and receive ongoing training.
Grant Amount: $30,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 08/10/2011 through 08/10/2012
Project Web Site: readingpartners.org/

San Francisco Court Appointed Special Advocates trains volunteers to advocate for foster youth. Each volunteer partners with a child for a minimum of a year and a half to ensure the foster youth receives appropriate education, health care, and legal representation. This grant from the Fund helps provide volunteers with training about the San Francisco public school system and children's educational rights.
Grant Amount: $40,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 12/14/2010 through 12/14/2011

The San Francisco Education Fund continues to support the San Francisco Unified School District with teacher quality, post-secondary school success, volunteer engagement, and student conflict mediation programs. It recently launched its Urban Teacher Residency program to recruit, train, place, and retain quality teachers. The program has prospective teachers combine their master's coursework with a mentored, full-year residency in an urban school. In their second year, these teachers lead classes on their own and receive ongoing coaching. In 2011, with general operating support from the Walter & Elise Haas Fund, the Education Fund will continue to build its Urban Teacher Residency program and operate its other important programs.
Grant Amount: $100,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 04/04/2011 through 04/04/2012
Project Web Site: www.sfedfund.org

Alternatives in Action has expanded to operate three public community schools in Alameda and Oakland. In partnership with school staff, youth, parents, and partner organizations, it coordinates these campuses so that they provide a full range of services to more than 600 students. Attendees and their families benefit from health services, counseling, robust after-school programs, and academic support.
Grant Amount: $50,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 07/06/2010 through 07/06/2011

As California's budget woes continue to worsen, the California Budget Project helps clarify the complex fiscal policy which shapes services and governance. The Project has analyzed how the budget and budget proposals affect communities and families. It published papers on school finance and workforce development--two areas of expanded focus for the Project. In 2011, it also will examine how federal budget and policy decisions affect California. The organization extends its training on the budget process to community leaders and service providers. The Fund supports the Project with a $50,000 Education grant and a $35,000 grant from Other Grantmaking. The full grant amount is listed in both programs.
Grant Amount: $85,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 11/22/2010 through 11/22/2011
Project Web Site: www.cbp.org

Fiscal Sponsor: Regents of the University of California
Established by the University of California's Office of the President, the California History-Social Science Project links academic researchers with teachers, students, and educators in California's K-12 schools. It has, since 1990, provided tools and training to improve instruction in history and social studies. The Project now strives to expand its offerings within school districts to deliver a more integrated, comprehensive suite of instructional supports and tools. A planning grant from the Fund helps design and pilot this project to improve history and social science education for California public school students.
Grant Amount: $50,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 11/22/2010 through 11/22/2011
Project Web Site: csmp.ucop.edu/chssp

Fiscal Sponsor: Regents of the University of California
The Center for Cities and Schools conducts research, provides education, and facilitates collaborative policymaking between local governments and school districts to improve Bay Area public schools and the urban communities in which they are located. The Center's experience fostering collaboration will grow in importance if Governor Brown's proposal shifting management and delivery of multiple services to the local level passes. The proposal would necessitate closer collaboration between counties, cities, and school districts to ensure alignment and coordination of services for youth.
Grant Amount: $80,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 04/04/2011 through 04/04/2012
Project Web Site: citiesandschools.berkeley.edu

Chinese for Affirmative Action advocates for Asian and Pacific Islander immigrants in San Francisco, using education and workforce development to increase their access to opportunity. Prior support from the Fund's education program helped develop and grow the group's Visitacion Valley Parents Association, which trains Cantonese-speaking parents and helps them participate in their children's schooling. In 2011, Chinese for Affirmative Action will continue to work with the school district to develop policies supporting immigrant students and families. The organization will also provide direct job-search and placement services along with advocacy on job access issues. This grant is split between the Fund's Education and Economic Security programs, $30,000 and $20,000 respectively. The listing has been duplicated in both areas.
Grant Amount: $50,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 07/06/2011 through 07/06/2012
Project Web Site: www.caasf.org

In partnership with public school districts, Internationals Network for Public Schools operates schools that educate recently immigrated high school students who speak little English. The organization expanded to the Bay Area with the opening of a school in Oakland in 2007 and launched a second public high school in San Francisco in 2009. Support from the Fund helps train leaders and teachers at both Bay Area schools. The organization's skill in sharing educational resources, knowledge, and best practices across its schools contributes to their success.
Grant Amount: $60,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 04/02/2010 through 04/02/2011
Project Web Site: www.internationalsnetwork.org

Fiscal Sponsor: Regents of the University of California
Leadership Connection for Justice in Education is the leading trainer of local principals. Its mission is to prepare a diverse cadre of high-quality principals to lead Bay Area public schools. Leadership Connection offers a three-year induction program and a coaching initiative that trains current principals to earn their permanent administrative credentials while improving their on-the-job skills. With support from the Fund, it will continue its training and pilot two evaluation tools to measure principal effectiveness.
Grant Amount: $50,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 04/04/2011 through 04/04/2012
Project Web Site: principals.berkeley.edu

Despite some incremental improvements in Bay Area schools, the achievement gap continues to threaten a large number of students. The National Equity Project offers targeted coaching in English and math; assists principals and teachers to identify “focal students”; and supports work to meet these students’ specific academic needs. It has expanded to six school districts—with its biggest presence in Oakland—and it has refined its work with participating schools. Results from 2011 indicate that support of focal students increases not only their learning but that of their classmates as well.
Grant Amount: $75,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 11/18/2011 through 11/18/2012
Project Web Site: www.nationalequityproject.org

The National Equity Project works to increase the percentage of Bay Area students of color who graduate from high school prepared to attend a college or university. The Project provides targeted coaching to principals and teachers in English and math, and it assists teachers in identifying students who require specific academic attention. Their program shifts the focus from what is taught to what is learned. Teachers regularly examine evidence of student progress and adjust their teaching as required. The Fund supports the Project's efforts to address the needs of low-performing students.
Grant Amount: $75,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 11/22/2010 through 11/22/2011
Project Web Site: www.nationalequityproject.org

New Haven Unified School District serves 13,000 students in Union City. Recently, Instructional Leadership Teams at all district schools have been charged with improving reading and writing through the expansion of critical thinking skills. Teams developed guiding questions for their colleagues and invited other teams to observe classes and report back, using the guiding questions as a road map. This new model has the potential to assist other, larger districts in grappling with similar instructional challenges.
Grant Amount: $80,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 04/04/2011 through 04/04/2012
Project Web Site: www.nhusd.k12.ca.us

New Leaders for New Schools is a national organization that trains principals to serve urban public schools more effectively. Participating principals-in-training work in public schools with mentors for a year, and then receive five years of intensive support in heading their own schools. Over the next five years, New Leaders will focus on turning around the Oakland School District's lowest-performing schools by training and supporting principals and by refining the district wide system that supports leadership development. The Fund provides regional support to aid these efforts.
Grant Amount: $65,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 07/06/2010 through 07/06/2011
Project Web Site: www.nlns.org

New Leaders for New Schools recruits and trains principals to lead and improve struggling schools. By the end of a 15-month residency including coursework and hands-on experience, each participating principal takes the helm at low-performing and under-resourced school. New Leaders recognizes that public school districts will have fewer openings for new principals as positions are consolidated. In response, it has expanded its programs to include intensive training of high-potential teachers and assistant principals, helping them to become better instructional leaders in their current positions. Using this new strategy, New Leaders will reach and train more educators, building staff capacity to bolster reform efforts.
Grant Amount: $65,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 07/06/2011 through 07/06/2012
Project Web Site: www.nlns.org

Partners in School Innovation trains elementary school principals to reshape and strengthen literacy instruction. It serves as the lead organization supporting schools in the San Francisco Unified School District's Superintendent's Zones—two neighborhoods targeted for educational reforms due to their large number of underperforming schools. The organization supports teachers in planning standards-based lessons that engage students; observing lessons and coaching; analyzing and making instructional adjustments based on student data; and using interventions tailored for struggling learners. It will also coach the district administrators charged with overseeing the Superintendent’s Zones and facilitate strategic planning meetings to narrow the achievement gap.
Grant Amount: $75,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 07/06/2011 through 07/06/2012
Project Web Site: www.partnersinschools.org

Partners in School Innovation has a strong track record of helping to close the achievement gap in low-performing public schools. It works with district leaders to plan district wide improvements; convenes district administrators, principals, and teachers to guide implementation in all schools; and intensively coaches principals and teachers at selected schools on how to increase students' reading proficiency. During the 2010-11 school year, Partners in School Innovation will provide services to seven of the San Francisco Unified School District's lowest performing schools.
Grant Amount: $75,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 07/06/2010 through 07/06/2011
Project Web Site: www.partnersinschools.org

With support from the Fund, Pivot Learning Partners is developing two technology tools for use in public school districts. The first tool, a user-friendly dashboard, integrates data about students' academic progress from the various district and state systems and makes this information accessible to students, parents, teachers, and principals. The second tool helps students select five adults and create an online network with them so they can receive mentoring and academic support.
Grant Amount: $60,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 07/06/2010 through 07/06/2011
Project Web Site: www.pivotlearningpartners.org

Pivot Learning Partners, with support from the Fund, seeks to expand use of their pilot technology tool in school districts and youth organizations. The tool is a social networking application modeled after popular networking sites like Facebook. Using the tool, youth identify five known, trusted adults in their lives. The students and their chosen mentors then set academic goals together and track progress towards those goals.
Grant Amount: $60,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 11/18/2011 through 11/18/2012
Project Web Site: www.pivotlearningpartners.org

Reach Institute for School Leadership grew, with support from the Fund, from an idea shared by a group of teachers and educators into a full-fledged graduate school of education. It credentials teachers and offers a leadership academy that trains teacher leaders to become instructional coaches, model teachers, and professional-development facilitators. Reach has received a competitive Teacher Incentive Fund grant from the federal government. This allows it to pilot a model for measuring teacher performance and to provide teachers with incentives and supports to improve their practice. The Walter & Elise Haas Fund provides general operating support to the Reach Institute.
Grant Amount: $100,000 [2011] , $85,000 [2012] , $70,000 [2013]
Project Dates: 07/06/2011 through 07/06/2012
Project Web Site: www.reachinst.org

Reach Institute for School Leadership continues to develop teacher training and leadership programs as it seeks regional accreditation as a graduate school. The Institute offers three programs: an intern credential program for teachers in their first year; a teacher induction program for teachers in their second and third years; and an intensive training program for teachers to become instructional coaches, model teachers, and professional development facilitators. Teachers receive substantial classroom-based support and personalized professional development. The Fund provides the Reach Institute with general operating support.
Grant Amount: $100,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 07/06/2010 through 07/06/2011
Project Web Site: www.reachinst.org

The San Francisco School Alliance exists to provide the San Francisco Unified School District with technical and financial support to implement educational reforms, to report the results of these efforts, and to garner support and investment from stakeholders. In 2010-11, the SFUSD requested Alliance assistance in helping senior administrators to implement its strategic plan. The Alliance convened key partners in response and is spearheading fundraising efforts. The Fund supports the Alliance's efforts to aid the SFUSD in improving the quality of education offered.
Grant Amount: $100,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 11/22/2010 through 11/22/2011
Project Web Site: www.sfschoolalliance.org

826 Valencia delivers instructional support to students, cultivating their passion for writing. Teachers credit the organization with helping to improve both the quality and quantity of in-classroom writing instruction. In 2009, the organization's more than 1,400 tutors provided one-on-one assistance to 6,100 students and 150 teachers. Receiving general operating support from the Fund, 826 Valencia also runs Writers Rooms in two public middle schools.
Grant Amount: $50,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 04/02/2010 through 04/02/2011
Project Web Site: www.826valencia.org

In 2009, summer school provider Aim High for High School launched a math pilot program at four sites in the South Bay and San Francisco. The pilot offered students an intensive, structured, five-week math curriculum while a math specialist provided support to teachers. Expanding on the success of this pilot, Aim High implemented its math program at all of its summer school sites in summer 2010.
Grant Amount: $25,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 05/07/2010 through 05/07/2011

Aim High for High School provides quality summer school programs to middle school students throughout the Bay Area. In 2009, with support from the Fund, Aim High launched a math pilot program that incorporates experiential learning. This 2011 grant supports professional development for Aim High’s San Francisco teachers. It also funds training teachers to pass along the skills they acquire through the program.
Grant Amount: $25,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 09/29/2011 through 09/29/2012
Project Web Site: www.aimhigh.org

In 2007, the Center for Wellness and Achievement in Education launched a comprehensive meditation program at Visitacion Valley Middle School. It was an unusual intervention in a school struggling with the highest suspension and teacher-turnover rates in the school district. Staff taught teachers and students how to use transcendental meditation to combat stress and increase mental function. After only one year, teacher absences due to illness dropped 30%. After three years, teacher turnover dropped to zero, removing the school from the “hard-to-staff” list. Student suspensions now are among the lowest in the district, down from 28% to 4%, and students’ grades and test scores have increased significantly. The program has expanded to three more schools.
Grant Amount: $40,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 08/10/2011 through 08/10/2012

EdSource was established before the passage of California's Proposition 13 in order to provide impartial, clarifying information about public education. It receives Fund support to develop a publication analyzing the proposed reforms in teacher evaluation, a process which is linked to student performance. EdSource's analysis helps stakeholders to develop a common understanding of how teacher effectiveness is measured and of how these measures relate to state and federal laws and policies.
Grant Amount: $65,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 11/22/2010 through 11/22/2011
Project Web Site: www.edsource.org

In the Exploratorium's Teacher Institute, new science teachers learn from their more experienced peers and obtain access to ongoing support. All of the training is subject specific and focuses on a learning-by-doing model using the Exploratorium's exhibits as instructional tools. Previous support from the Fund helped establish the Museum's teacher-induction program, which trains teachers to coach in the Teacher Institute. In 2011, the Fund's grant enables the Exploratorium to build out a rigorous, two-year training program for mid-career teachers. This program allows teachers to deepen their skills, prepares them to enter the leadership program, and encourages them to remain in the teaching profession.
Grant Amount: $60,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 04/04/2011 through 04/04/2012
Project Web Site: www.exploratorium.org

Great Oakland Public Schools Information Center was established to increase knowledge about and engagement in Oakland public schools. It convenes meetings and facilitates dialogues on a range of critical issues, including effective teaching, school and district leadership, student assignment, and school budgeting. Staff track public school strategic planning efforts, serve on task forces, attend board of education meetings, and report to the community. Through the dissemination of information, Great Oakland Public Schools seeks to engage Oakland citizens in education policy discussions at the local, state, and federal levels to improve public schools.
Grant Amount: $25,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 05/31/2011 through 05/31/2012
Project Web Site: www.gopublicschools.org/

The Internationals Network for Public Schools, in partnership with public school districts, creates schools that educate high school students who have recently arrived in the United States and who speak little English. The organization began in New York, expanded to the Bay Area in 2007, and now operates high schools in Oakland and San Francisco. Schools receive instructional, operational, and development support from the Network in addition to regular funding from their local school district. Sharing educational resources, knowledge, and best practices throughout the network has been key to the organization's success. The Fund's grant supports the Network's effective training of leaders and teachers at their two Bay Area schools.
Grant Amount: $60,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 04/04/2011 through 04/04/2012
Project Web Site: www.internationalsnetwork.org

Mills College's Teacher Scholars program guides teams of East Bay public school teachers to build collaborative learning communities in which they can investigate their own questions about student learning. The model is based on research showing that teachers who participate in learning communities are much more likely to both remain in teaching and to improve their practice. During the 2011-12 school year, with support from the Fund, Teacher Scholars will serve 100 teachers from East Bay schools, helping them to ask questions about their teaching, gather and analyze data about how students learn, work with colleagues to understand how to use this data in their classrooms, and improve their instruction.
Grant Amount: $50,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 07/06/2011 through 07/06/2012
Project Web Site: www.mills.edu

New Teacher Center, a national leader in teacher training, has partnered with the Oakland Unified School District to develop and pilot a plan for gauging the effectiveness of its beginning-teacher support programs. This pilot will help New Teacher Center to create a toolkit that other California school districts can use to evaluate their own beginning-teacher support programs. It will identify areas of needed improvement and help develop a plan for addressing them.
Grant Amount: $60,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 07/06/2011 through 07/06/2012
Project Web Site: www.newteachercenter.org

California public schools face another round of teacher layoffs in 2011. In schools that serve low-income students and which are staffed by newer teachers, it is not uncommon for every single teacher to receive a layoff notice. This institutional trauma undermines teacher training, instructional reform efforts, and teacher-student relationships. Public Counsel provides school districts with guidance on how to use existing laws and regulations to protect the most vulnerable schools from disproportionate layoffs. The Fund's grant supports the group's work to protect Bay Area schools.
Grant Amount: $40,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 12/14/2010 through 12/14/2011

Refugee Transitions recruits, trains, and supports adult volunteers to provide weekly tutoring and social and emotional support to youth in San Francisco and Oakland. The organization partners with the Oakland and San Francisco International High Schools, which serve recently arrived students. This grant from the fund both helps Refugee Transitions to offer tutoring four days a week at both school campuses and to connect parents with volunteers who provide English and civics tutoring.
Grant Amount: $20,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 05/31/2011 through 05/31/2012
Project Web Site: www.reftrans.org/

Recently merged with San Francisco School Volunteers, San Francisco Education Fund focuses on teacher quality, post-secondary school success, volunteer engagement, and student conflict mediation. With general operating support from the Haas Fund, the organization launches its new San Francisco Urban Teacher Residency to recruit, train, place, and retain quality teachers in public schools.
Grant Amount: $100,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 04/02/2010 through 04/02/2011
Project Web Site: www.sfedfund.org

In 2009, a small group of teachers at Sherman Elementary School traveled to Columbia University to learn a new approach to teaching reading. After launching the instructional model in their classrooms at Sherman Elementary, student reading proficiency increased so dramatically that other teachers requested training. The Fund's grant sends a second group of Sherman Elementary teachers to Columbia and funds visits by expert coaches throughout the upcoming school year. Through these efforts, Sherman Elementary will serve as a lab for other educators in San Francisco seeking to implement this instructional model.
Grant Amount: $35,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 05/18/2010 through 05/18/2011

Fiscal Sponsor: San Francisco Coalition of Essential Small Schools
In 2009, a group of teachers from Sherman Elementary School in San Francisco traveled to Columbia University to study a new approach to teaching reading with an emphasis on comprehension. Afterwards, their student’s reading proficiency increased so dramatically that other teachers requested the same training. Now, with support from the Fund, three additional San Francisco public schools will implement this literacy model. Principals from participating schools have formed a learning collaborative to share Columbia University’s professional development training and Sherman Elementary classrooms will serve as a learning lab for teachers. San Francisco Coalition of Essential Small Schools provides fiscal sponsorship and facilitates the collaboration.
Grant Amount: $65,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 07/06/2011 through 07/06/2012
Project Web Site: www.sfusd.edu

Students have increased chances of success when they both believe in their ability to excel in school and have the self-discipline to apply themselves consistently. June Jordan School for Equity, a small public high school in San Francisco, helps its primarily African American, Latino, and working class students develop these skills by launching a rigorous teacher-training program. The training, supported by the Fund, uses video to analyze and improve instructional techniques. Staff will build a library of videos documenting successful practice to aid other educators.
Grant Amount: $45,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 12/16/2010 through 12/16/2011

Teach for America's Bay Area program supports 385 first- and second-year corps members who teach in Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose public schools. In addition to its growing teaching corps, increased numbers of program alumni stay in the education field after completing their two-year teaching commitment. Five percent of Bay Area principals and district administrators arrived through the program. Teach for America has focused recent efforts on improving both its pre- and post-classroom corp member training to improve the quality of education. The Fund supports Teach for America with a general operating grant.
Grant Amount: $60,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 11/22/2010 through 11/22/2011
Project Web Site: www.teachforamerica.org

Fiscal Sponsor: Community Initiatives
Teachers 4 Social Justice is a local grassroots effort providing peer-learning opportunities to Bay Area public school teachers and educators. It operates 30 local study groups for 10 to 15 teachers each year, offering each group of attendees an opportunity to improve their teaching practice. With support from the Fund, Teachers 4 Social Justice hopes to sustain and strengthen its work to improve the level of education in schools and to cultivate teacher leaders.
Grant Amount: $15,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 12/06/2010 through 12/06/2011

Fiscal Sponsor: Community Initiatives
Teachers 4 Social Justice provides peer-learning opportunities for Bay Area public school teachers and community educators. The core of its work is the offering of 30 local study groups per year. For the teachers, each group is an opportunity to improve their practice and improve group facilitation skills. Teachers 4 Social Justice has grown over the last decade and now works to strengthen teacher leaders within the organization in order to sustain and enhance its work.
Grant Amount: $15,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 09/29/2011 through 09/29/2012
Project Web Site: www.t4sj.org/

With prior funding, World Savvy piloted an initiative to provide comprehensive professional development support to cohorts of up to ten teachers at five Bay Area partner schools. Participating schools integrated global issues into their curricula in all academic subjects, strengthened professional development, and improved collaboration. This 2011 grant from the Fund supports World Savvy in expanding the depth and breadth of its key programs, in building organizational capacity, and in advocating for global competency in instruction.
Grant Amount: $40,000 [2011]
Project Dates: 09/29/2011 through 09/29/2012
Project Web Site: worldsavvy.org

World Savvy educates and engages young people in community and world affairs by training teachers. In its Global Educators Program, teachers learn one-on-one how to integrate age-appropriate, contemporary world affairs into middle and high school classrooms. World Savvy uses the best curricula available on contemporary global issues and helps teachers create original lesson plans. General operating support from the Fund aids World Savvy in implementing professional development services for its Bay Area Global Educators Program.
Grant Amount: $40,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 05/28/2010 through 05/28/2011

As the Branch Library Improvement Program renovates and constructs branch libraries, the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library collects funds to supply the furniture, fixtures, and equipment that transforms buildings into places that foster learning and community. The Fund supports this organization's efforts to outfit newly renovated branches in the Bayview, Visitacion Valley, and Sunset neighborhoods. In addition to supplying standard materials, the group has invited residents near each branch to identify needs particular to their community so that the educational value of libraries effectively reaches the populace.
Grant Amount: $100,000 [2010]
Project Dates: 11/22/2010 through 11/22/2011
Project Web Site: www.friendssfpl.org

The Exploratorium has outgrown its home at the Palace of Fine Arts and is building a new, state-of-the-art facility on the Embarcadero. This new facility will be located on Piers 15 and 17 and will allow the Exploratorium to double the number of visitors it can accommodate each year. The Fund’s grant supports this capital investment. The Exploratorium will also be producing advertising, exhibition materials, and educational programs in Spanish as well as English with the particular goal of attracting more Latino visitors.
Grant Amount: $271,500 [2011] , $114,250 [2012] , $114,250 [2013]
Project Dates: 11/18/2011 through 11/18/2012
Project Web Site: www.exploratorium.org