Parents delivered a check for $2.8 million to public schools in Atherton, California on June 16, bolstering academic excellence with the power of their wallets.
The parents are part of an organization called the Las Lomitas Education Foundation, which financially supports schools in the Las Lomitas Elementary School District. It is composed of volunteers who have children in the districts’ two schools, Las Lomitas Elementary School and La Entrada Middle School, as well as others in the Menlo Park-Atherton community.
About $1.4 million of the check, which is the largest donation in the history of the foundation’s existence, will be used to keep class sizes small, according to a letter written by Komal Shah, LLEF President. This money will fund 19 teachers’ salaries.
Las Lomitas Elementary School educated 666 students in the 2011-12 academic school year, according to the school’s most recent accountability report, while La Entrada had 688 students enrolled. The school district spends about $14,000 per year on each student at La Entrada, where the average teacher’s salary is $90,643 per year. This data is almost identical for Las Lomitas Elementary.
About $600,000 will be used to enhance the curriculum with elective courses such as music and physical education classes.
Funds from this gift will also be used to enable innovative educational initiatives such as putting iPads in 3rd-5th grade classrooms, and bestowing imaginative teachers with grants that will take their ideas from concept to reality.
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