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​OUR PROGRAMS
The foundation is proud of the diversity of the equity-focused enrichment programs we source and support throughout the district. Here are just some of our currently-funded programs.​
Science & Math
Outdoor Education
Outdoor education offers a once-in-a-lifetime experience for fifth graders to experience three- and five-day overnight science camps. Students learn about marine science, forest science, or both in beautiful outdoor settings featuring tidepool exploration, redwood forest hikes, and interactive classes led by experienced naturalists.
Garden Education
Students learn about plant science from certified garden instructors while rolling up their sleeves and getting dirty planting, weeding, and harvesting, right in their very own campus garden. The best part? Eating what you’ve grown (hey, that jicama is pretty good!)
East Bay Park Field Trips
Students enjoy day trips to local East Bay Regional Parks. From counting crabs at the shoreline to silent nature walks to building their own forts in the forest version of a makerspace, students learn about the natural world that’s right in their own back yard.
Mystery Science
This program offers teacher-facilitated, open-and-go lessons in both physical and natural science that spark curiosity for elementary school students by posing questions and then providing a series of clues to arrive at an answer. Could Mt. Diablo erupt? Let’s find out.
Mosa Mack
This middle school platform emphasizes problem-solving with relevant, real-world applications and increased critical thinking. Sixth through eighth graders are immersed in a highly engaging process as they become detectives, utilizing the scientific method to solve real-world problems.
Gizmos
This popular tool provides high schoolers with a library of interactive math and science simulations and labs matched by their teacher to their classroom subject and lesson. From physics and chemistry to earth science and engineering, Gizmos gives students, especially those who may need extra help, the tools they need to succeed in often challenging subjects.
Arts
Artist Residencies
Through our partnership with Young Audiences of Northern California, local visual and performing artists teach in a school for two months. Students receive in-depth exposure to artistic ideas and expression, from printmaking and sculpture to African drumming and Brazilian capoeira.
California Symphony Concert
Elementary students enjoy an excursion to the Dean and Margaret Lesher Center in Walnut Creek to hear and see a live, youth-oriented performance by the California Symphony. Last year’s performance of Philharmonia Fantastique: the Making of the Orchestra was a huge hit with the kids.
Ballet Folklórico
Students learn about traditional Mexican dance led by a local Bay Area instructor for five weeks, culminating in costumed, music-filled performances by the students for the school community.
Arts Magnet
The foundation is a long-time supporter of Wren Avenue School of the Arts, the district’s arts magnet school. Over the years, we have funded materials and supplies, the Art in Action program, and arts integration training for faculty.
Cultural Assemblies
Middle and elementary students enjoy a varied array of engaging performing artists featuring vibrant song, dance, and storytelling from around the world. Whether it’s Hawaiian hula, Chinese lion dances or taiko drumming, students gain an understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures.
Murals
The foundation sponsors large-scale murals that set our campuses apart. Often reflective of students’ own ethnic heritages, the murals create an opportunity for these junior artists learn technique while helping professional muralists create signature images that will show off their school for years to come.
PEEK Outreach
Offered at five of our elementary schools, PEEK Outreach is a popular and effective social-emotional program that helps younger kids learn to express themselves in positive ways. Taught by our partners at Diablo Ballet, the year-long program emphasizes body movement and ends with a silent, student-led performance in front of their peers.
Nutcracker
During the holiday season, our PEEK Outreach students are treated to a special performance at the Lesher Center of The Nutcracker Suite, an imaginative, youth-oriented presentation of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker.
Technology & engineering
High School Robotics
The foundation is a proud sponsor of the award-winning robotics programs that provide career pathways for many of our high school students. Students design and build large-scale robots and compete them against other high schools throughout the state.
Middle School Robotics
A precursor to the high school programs, middle school students build tabletop robots while learning about engineering and other applied sciences.
​Lemelson MIT InvenTeams
This program, created and hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, empowers young inventors in their quest to design solutions to identified problems. The foundation helped fund a high school trip to MIT’s EurekaFest event where the students’ assistive hand exoskeleton won top honors.
college & career
College Visits
Third, fourth, and fifth graders take day trips to local universities where they are able to explore the campus, check out classrooms, and experience the pace and feel of a real college campus. Especially powerful for first-generation students, pupils are encouraged to set themselves high goals in their journey of learning.
For more details about our programs, feel free to take a look through our annual impact reports below.​
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