Extended through January 31st

Help us support Visual Arts!

As we start the second part of the school year our students continue to experience the challenges of the pandemic. Their social-emotional needs have been affected by their inability to attend school in person for several months, not being able to socialize in person and the changes in their school life to comply with needed health guidelines.

Our goal is to provide schools with additional funding for Visual Arts programs with donations from community members, parents, alumni, small businesses, and large corporations. The Major Gifts and Endowment Fund has generously kicked off this endeavor with a donation for professional development to support staff in effectively integrating Art into their classroom activities.

Why art?

Participation in art activities helps relax and de-stress
Art helps to develop self-awareness and self-esteem
Art strengthens students' ability to cooperate, collaborate, and problem solve
Art gives students a voice in learning and telling their stories
Art stimulates the development of the young brain
and many more!

You have been there in the past to support our efforts and we need you even more NOW.

Become a Friend of the Foundation

Would you consider donating to this cause to help us reach our goal?

Donations of $50 or more receive a Friends of the Foundation magnet
Donations of $500 or more will be recognized at the annual Night with the Stars celebration

Do you want to donate using PayPal without fees? Click below.

PayPal Giving Fund

2022-01-12 SRVEF Imagineering - Lion King Jr.jpg

The Imagineering Program is super excited to announce that our Summer 2022 Theater Production Class will be performing Disney’s The Lion King JR!

This will be a 5 Week Theatre Production Class with class meeting Monday through Friday from 9 am to 12 pm from June 19 through July 22, 2022, at Gale Ranch Middle School.

Performances will be Thursday, July 21st & Friday, July 22nd.

Our Summer Imagineering Program is shaping up to be fantastic! Registration will open at the beginning of February. We will have classes for students entering 2nd through 6th grades, and entering 6th through 9th grades. Students can choose from physical computing to chemistry, painting to baking, graphic design to robotics, and stop motion animation to engineering.

More information coming soon at bit.ly/srvef_imagineering

Meet Leslie Anderson,

SRVEF Board Secretary and SRVUSD Alum

Leslie Anderson was born and raised in Alamo CA. She started school as a kindergarten student at Stone Valley School. Her class opened Rancho Romero Elementary as third graders. Leslie went on to attend San Ramon Valley HS and thus was grounded in the community as a “forever SRVHS Wolf”.

Leslie became a teacher and then a Principal as she traveled through three school districts. She returned to the Danville area as Principal of Montair Elementary, her favorite job! She moved on to work as a Director in the district office and accumulated 20 years working in SRVUSD. Leslie retired as Assistant Superintendent in Castro Valley. She found she could stay connected by getting involved in SRVEF and volunteering her time and passion for teaching and learning and supporting all of those that do the intense and dedicated work to help the students become the best they can be.

Leslie says: "As a current Board member on SRVEF there are many opportunities to get involved in many aspects of support. Being a liaison to individual school Ed Funds gives me a chance to see things in action and to meet the parents who work hard for their schools. I also get that “principal” excitement when I see the teachers involved in teaching in our Imagineering classes, the students in action in the classes we offer, and the Science Mentor program. The community-feel at the Run for Education helps you remember how lucky we are to live here."

Thank you, San Ramon Rotary!

We are again grateful for the work and dedication of the members of the San Ramon Rotary! They have established the annual Auction for Education that benefits the San Ramon Valley Education Foundation. Despite all of the challenges of the last two years, the San Ramon Rotary remains a dedicated partner of the SRVEF and the community.

2022-01-14 Auction for Ed Check Rotary _2_.png

Imagineering Instructor Spotlight

Joanna Chung,

Meet Joanna Chung, Avid and Home Economics Teacher from Windemere Ranch Middle School. Mrs. Chung started teaching Culinary Arts for the Imagineering Program in the Summer of 2021, and her classes have been drawing big crowds! Students have lined up to learn how to bake brownies, scones, and delectable cookies while learning some of the science and mathematics that are intrinsically a part of cooking and baking.

Mrs. Chung grew up in Southern California where she attended Cal State Fullerton and the University of La Verne. After graduating and earning her teaching credential, Mrs. Chung taught in Southern California for 13 years before moving to the Bay Area with her family.

This current school year marks Mrs. Chung’s 27th year teaching. She started out as a Core Teacher, but had an opportunity to teach Home Economics at her school site. She got her supplemental credential and has been the Home Economics teacher at Windemere Ranch ever since.

Mrs. Chung has three adult children who all attended Windemere Ranch and Dougherty Valley High School. She loves our SRVUSD community where she continues to live with her husband and adorable rescue pup Alfie.

The culinary arts classes that Mrs. Chung has taught for the Imagineering Program have been extremely popular. They sell out quickly and typically result in a waiting list of students who didn’t rush to registration. Mrs. Chung describes her time with Imagineering as a fabulous experience that has given her the opportunity to meet students from other parts of the district as well as a chance to work with some younger students, which she has absolutely loved.

In her spare time, Mrs. Chung loves to go thrifting and traveling. She also enjoys watching her youngest son play basketball for Pacific University in Oregon. Mrs. Chung is always looking for her next adventure, in recent years she took a ride on a helicopter and went skydiving with her daughter! Her teaching philosophy is that above all, learning should be fun and relevant to keep students excited and engaged.

Mrs. Chung will be returning as an Imagineering Instructor this summer. Be on the lookout for registration information at the beginning of February so your student is sure to secure a spot in the kitchen!

Thank you, Alamo Ace Hardware!

We are grateful to Alamo Ace Hardware for choosing SRVEF as their beneficiary for their Community Shopping days! The funds raised from the past two events will assist with the Visual Arts education programs we are funding in partnership with SRVUSD.

A Note from Gary Alpert,

President of SRVEF Board of Directors

CONGRATULATIONS to our Executive Director, Vanessa R. Berastain

San Ramon Chamber of Commerce

Citizen of the Year

On behalf of the San Ramon Valley Education Foundation Board and Staff, I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and welcome to 2022! We hope that you and your family had an enjoyable holiday season. We are very excited about the new year and are looking forward to what it has to offer.

The San Ramon Valley Education Foundation will continue to support our mission of investing in education, supporting parent organizations, and engaging our community for the benefit of and in partnership with the San Ramon Valley Unified School District.

We are all passionate about public education and know that you are too. Our Annual Season of Giving Campaign is dedicated to the Visual Arts in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. As we all know, expanding programs in the Arts is essential for our students. They teach innumerable lessons—practice makes perfect, small differences can have large effects, and collaboration leads to creativity. The arts also teach children that there are several paths to take when approaching problems and that all problems can have more than one solution.

Our Giving Campaign will remain open throughout January, so it is not too late to donate and make a real difference. You can do so by going to www.srvef.org/donate. Any amount is appreciated!

We also have some exciting projects for 2022, including a renewed focus on Community Outreach. A significant percentage of our community does not have a direct connection to our schools; either their students have graduated and moved on or do not have students in the schools at all. However, everyone benefits from high-quality schools. SRVUSD continues to be a destination school district for many families. We are exploring ways to better connect with this segment of our population. Similarly, we are planning additional outreach to our business community.

Have any ideas? Please share them by contacting us at info@SRVEF.org

Gary Alpert, President

San Ramon Valley Education Foundation

Your Gift is Important!

Would you consider making a donation to support public education in the San Ramon Valley? We welcome you to become a Friend of the Foundation. SRVEF accepts donations via check, through PayPal, or our website. Thank you for your support!

To donate via check, please mail a check to:

SRVEF

3280 Crow Canyon Road

San Ramon, CA 94583

To donate through PayPal (no extra fees for SRVEF), please click the picture above

To donate through our website, please click the picture above

Our Mission

The San Ramon Valley Education Foundation invests in education, supports parent organizations and engages our community for the benefit of and in partnership with the San Ramon Valley Unified School District.

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