A message from our President & CEO, Dr. Lisa Andrew SVEF continues its unwavering service to students and teachers during these unprecedented times I am an invisible man. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. It is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination—indeed, everything and anything except me. I am constantly being bumped against by those of poor vision. I often doubt if I really exist. It’s when you feel like this that, out of resentment, you begin to bump people back. Invisible Man prologue, Ralph Ellison, 1952 Now, more than ever, SVEF’s vision of every student becoming a success and productive adult requires bold, courageous action. The pieces below highlight our actions to deliver and advocate for students farthest from access and opportunity. We continue to work each day to “see” our community and champion solutions. Understanding. Unity. Action. SVEF works to close the digital divide COVID-19 has highlighted internet access and devices as essential utilities for school and work, but almost 100,000 San Jose residents lack access to broadband. SVEF has undertaken a number of initiatives to close the digital divide:
Elevate [Math] virtually serving over 3000 students The Elevate [Math] summer program is in full swing! Over 3000 students in grades 3-10 in the Bay Area and beyond are online daily for 3 hours of synchronous learning with their teacher and college mentor. Teachers are using Zoom, Nearpod, and Google platforms to serve students. We’re seeing high engagement and student excitement as we move through the curriculum in this virtual space. "When it comes to math, Fernando has become accustomed to not being challenged in class and has lost interest. That is why I had him join. I see he is gaining interest in math again. I hadn't seen that in a while!" - Elevate parent Additionally, SVEF is collaborating with industry professionals from Micron, Genentech, Waymo, and more to provide every class with virtual STEM Workshops to inspire students to pursue STEM careers. "They were an awesome group. I was smiling for the rest of the day." - Genentech volunteer Computer Science Institute engaging 500 students in physical computing This summer Computer Science Institute teachers are using BBC micro:bits to provide multi-sensory classroom experience based on communication, innovation, and collaboration. Teachers are running live coding lessons using the micro:bit, a pocket-sized, codeable computer packed with features. The simplicity and versatility of the micro:bit makes it an easy, fun starting point for digital engagement. With the micro:bit, the students get hands-on tinkering experience and switch from being consumers of digital information to designers and creators. "CSI is a good combination of head, hand, and heart knowledge. Students are able to apply their knowledge of computer science directly to a physical product while being given opportunities to create projects of their own passion." - CSI teacher Faced with a projected $54.3 billion deficit, Governor Newsom proposed a budget that strips school spending to its legal minimum, a reduction of $15 billion from current levels. Representatives of education groups voiced concern that the proposed cuts will make it impossible to reopen schools with COVID protections in place. SVEF convened a virtual forum on June 10th to discuss the topic. Expert panelists from both the state and local level gathered on Zoom to shed light on what the budget will mean for students, families, and educators. Watch the recorded forum here! “We’re the 5th largest economy in the world, so it is not a resource gap we’re facing in California. It’s a priority gap.… Educating in a COVID reality is more expensive, not less expensive.” - Wesley Smith, Executive Director of the Association of CA School Administrators 17 seniors awarded Goals for Education scholarships through the San Jose Earthquakes & Wells Fargo On June 23, 2020, 17 deserving high school students in Santa Clara County were awarded the Goals for Education scholarship and congratulated by Dr. Lisa Andrew, SVEF CEO; Max Seetho, Wells Fargo Silicon Valley Region President; Jared Shawlee, Quakes COO; and Matt Bersano, Quakes Goalkeeper. The program dedicates $500 to the scholarship fund for every goals the San Jose Earthquakes scored last season, and 17 students received $1500 each to fund their college studies. SVEF administered the scholarships. 100% of the awardees are the first generation to attend college and 94% will pursue a STEM major in Fall 2020. "With this scholarship, I am now one step closer to affording and pursuing college as a first-generation student. With the current pandemic and economic hardships, this has definitely lifted a weight off of my shoulders." - Nina Linh, scholarship recipient The East Side Alliance (ESA) moved online and provided several well attended professional development sessions this spring. We kicked off the new school year with a summer session, the ESA Virtual Conference: The Power of Collective Efficacy in Mathematics, facilitated in partnership with Dr. Bernadette Salgarino at the Santa Clara County Office of Education and keynote speaker Jenni Donohoo. Teachers learned collective efficacy strategies to empower students in mathematics and engaged in breakout sessions with model teachers sharing how they apply strategies from the ESA Math Toolkit in their distance-learning classrooms. Watch the webinar here. "Collective efficacy is about the overwhelming power that groups have to impact change when they share the belief in their ability to solve problems and overcome challenges." - Jenni Donohoo 49ers STEM Leadership Institute graduates inaugural cohort, dives into summer When schools closed in March, the 49ers STEM Leadership Institute (SLI) staff quickly launched a new model to deliver extended learning time to our 7th-12th graders through the end of the school year. Our teachers virtually led STEM activities weekly and found creative ways for students to continue to work collaboratively from home. The school year culminated in June with the graduation and virtual celebration of SLI's inaugural cohort (class of 2020) and their six remarkable years with SLI. The 49ers team honored SLI and all 2020 graduates virtually at the 49ers @Home Graduation, featuring speeches from players as well as SLI senior Medha Kini. Medha received a full scholarship to Stanford or UC Berkeley from Learning by Giving! "My SLI experiences have exposed me to more opportunities to better myself both in my area of intended study and in my people skills." - SLI graduating senior Thank You to Our Recent Donors!Anonymous / Ike and Oreolwa Adeyemi / AmazonSmile / Apple / Esther Ayorinde / Tom Baker / Ned and Jimi Barnholt / Alice Baum / Jenya Beachy / Marco Benazzo / Ray Bingham / Bloomingdales / Bright Funds Foundation / Broadcom Corp / Stasi Brown / Julie Brush / Nancy Bush and Emil Scoffone / California Emerging Technology Fund / Cisco Systems / Cislini Fund / City of San Jose / Clorox/Code.org / Danielle Cohen / Community Foundation For Monterey County / CORE Companies LLC / Juan Cruz / Jared Darby / John Doerr and Ann Howland-Doerr / Excite Credit Union / Faiyaz Shahpurwala / FIRST / First Tech Federal Credit Union / Francis and Evelyn Lee / Marcel Gani / Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation / Genentech / General Atlantic, LLC / Google Inc. / Garnet Ann Haeckl and Doralee Stancil / Russ and Marcia Hansen / Susan Harrington / William and Susan Harvey / Hatter Ekberg Donor Advised Fund / Lynn Hayes / Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley/Hologic / House Family Foundation / Jaclyn Howard / Paul and Linda Humphries / Hurlbut-Johnson Charitable Trusts / IBM / Joan Johnsen / Steven D Kesselring and Jean M Forrest / Lam Research Corp. / Edna Laskin / Leslie Family Foundation / Debra Locke / Rachelle Lopp/Mark Loretan / Sally MacDonald and Scott Gerken / Snigdha Malladi / Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services / Webb and Chris McKinney / Brandon Middleton / D. John Miller Family Foundation / Monterey Peninsula Foundation / Donna Murphy / David and Anne Neale / Nvidia Corp. / C.S. and Jin Park / Permira Advisers / Kenneth Pier and Ellen Wheeler / Playing at Learning / Janet and Allen Podell / Stacy Porter / Benjamin Poulain / Primrose Schools / PwC / Stuart Ralston / Myra Reinhard Family Foundation / Chloe Reynolds / San Francisco 49ers Foundation / George Sanchez / Seagate Technology / Ma Dolores Sepulveda / Barbara Service / Silicon Valley Community Foundation / Charlie and Julia Simmons / Soul Focus Sports / Douglas Spreng / George G. Stuart and Jeannette A. Stuart Charitable Trust / Synopsys Inc. / US Bank / Richard Walker / Bertha and Carl Ward / Wells Fargo Foundation / Suzanne and Thomas Werner / Western Digital / Katherine Whitehead / Laura Wood / Robin Yonash / Zia Yusuf Your donation makes the difference! |