Donating to the Redwood City Education Foundation (RCEF) is the one way our community has to raise funds that stay in Redwood City and directly benefit our more than 8,000 kindergarten through 8th grade students.

Last year, because of the support of the Redwood City community and school parents, we were able to raise $270,000 to fund critical academic, music, and wellness programs for the 2006/07 school year.
Now we are continuing to develop our valuable connections with donors, local corporations, and grant foundations to raise $300,000 for the 2007/08.  If we pass this goal, we will be able expand our programs, for example, by adding a visual arts instruction, or expanding Music for Learning to include first graders.

Please read further to learn about current programs provided by the RCEF.

Academic Support

Kindergarten Assessment
Assessing the readiness of our youngest students for their foundation year of school helps them start out right. Kindergarten assessments identify students who need extra support before they arrive on their first day. The assessments also help teachers and principals balance their kindergarten rooms by skills and readiness, making the first year of school a success for all.

Bridges to Kindergarten
Children who are not fully ready for school receive a one-week introduction to classroom basics, such as sitting in circle time, learning to use scissors correctly, and raising their hand to ask questions. Learning these skills makes the first day of kindergarten less frightening for these new learners and prepares them for a year of Kindergarten success.

Both Kindergarten programs are fully supported by the Steve and Anita Westly Foundation.

Reading Support
The RCEF provides LeapPad Learning System™ materials to all our elementary school libraries to help turn beginning readers into strong readers. LeapPads, which use special interactive books and cartridges, teach vocabulary, phonics, reading, and other important literacy skills. This year’s program is supported in part by a grant from Nektar Inc.

Outdoor Education

1,000 Redwood City fifth graders spend an action-filled week at Jones Gulch, near La Honda, exploring the natural environment and developing skills in science, mathematics, and language arts. The RCEF funds a part-time coordinator who  schedules all the fifth grade classrooms in the district and ensures that teachers and campers are ready for hands-on learning in the great outdoors.

National Board Certification Teacher Stipends

Excellence in the classroom begins with well-trained teachers, and the RCEF believes strongly in helping our teachers excel. We encourage and financially assist our teachers to apply for National Board Certification (NBC), the highest credential in the teaching profession. NBC trains teachers in differentiated learning—an approach that targets classroom instruction to each student’s ability, instead of teaching to the class average. The RCEF partners with the Redwood City School District to provide a $2,000 stipend to qualified teachers, defraying most of the $2,800 cost.

Music and the Arts

Music for Learning
Countless studies have proven the value of music instruction in improving achievement in other subjects, such as math, as well as giving students the opportunity to develop their musical gifts in these critical childhood years.  The Music for Learning program ensures that 3,000 second through fourth grade students receive instruction from trained music educators so they too can enjoy the benefits of learning to play music. In the first two years, students learn the fundamentals of rhythm, pitch, and tempo and enjoy a musical workshop, “Peter and the Wolf.” In the final year, students learn to play the recorder and perform as a group. This program receives partial support from the Cultural Commission of Redwood City and the Steve and Anita Westly Foundation.

Instrumental Music
The middle school years are critical bridge years for music learners, preparing them for participation in high school music programs and community youth orchestras. The RCEF is committed to seeing every middle school student receive continued music instruction and this year is providing supplemental funds to help schools buy instruments. Support for these supplemental funds comes from Electronic Arts Corporation.

Wellness

Wellness Coordinator

Well-nourished, physically fit children are ready and able to learn and achieve. The RCEF funds a wellness coordinator who works with schools to teach students healthy habits through nutrition education and physical activity so they can do their best at school and at home. The coordinator also helps teachers incorporate wellness principals into the curriculum and teaches parents how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This position is funded in part by a grant from Kaiser Permanente.

Community Education and Outreach

The RCEF is committed to delivering ongoing community education and outreach to the families and students of Redwood City.  This year we are providing:

• Parent education lecture series. This year we are focusing on internet safety with a presentation by Larry Magid, noted computer journalist and safety expert. Last year, we focused on “Stressed Out Students” with a presentation by Denise Clark Pope.
• Reports on complex educational issues including education funding and test score results
• Online parent resources through our website at www.rcef.org.
• Community education on school finance. Last year we provided a thought-provoking evening featuring the John Merrow documentary “From First to Worst” along with a panel of educational experts.  This year we offer home viewings of this acclaimed documentary.