9/27/2006 Newport-Mesa Unified School District Receives New $2.5 Million Science Enrichment Fund • Gift from Donald Bren provides 10-year commitment to accelerate the Elementary Science Resource Teacher Program and provide continued funding • Grant builds on The Irvine Company’s historic education support for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District
Irvine Company Chairman Donald Bren announced Tuesday a $2.5 million philanthropic gift for fourth- through sixth-grade science programs in the Newport Mesa Unified School District. The gift will be used to jump start the Elementary Science Resource Teacher Program and provide a major ongoing source of support for a district-wide science enrichment program. Mr. Bren’s gift will assure dedicated funding to support highly qualified “specialist teachers” in science over the next 10 years. Students in grades four through six will receive focused educational experiences in science beyond what is provided by their regular classroom teachers as required by California’s state education curriculum. This new commitment will be used in conjunction with the interest earnings from the $6 million endowment fund that The Irvine Company dedicated to the Newport Mesa Unified School District in 1990. The combined funds will provide the school district with the opportunity to accelerate and implement the Elementary Science Resource Teacher Program earlier than expected, for the 2006-2007 school year. As a consequence, Newport-Mesa fourth- through sixth-grade students will receive a comprehensive and professionally driven science curriculum that equals or surpasses that of any school district in Orange County. “The critical thinking and discipline required in science provides students with tools that they will use to succeed in, and fully appreciate, life,” Mr. Bren said in announcing the gift. “I live and work daily with many of the enrichment disciplines I learned during my academic career, realizing over time that what I had learned to appreciate had become a permanent part of my life, both personally and professionally. Many may not associate those disciplines with the everyday business world, yet they are very important to the broadening of a student’s academics and they underscore why we believe enrichment programs are absolutely necessary to our children.” “Parents of students in the Newport-Mesa school district should be elated,” said Serene Stokes, a member of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board. “This guarantees that their students, for the next decade, will receive this science curriculum -- taught by specialized professionals who are experts in the field – and that this program will not be vulnerable to budget cuts and will begin sooner than anticipated. This wonderful gift will allow our students to receive one of the finest science educations available.” The additional specialized teachers will utilize new, dedicated science instructional facilities created by the Measure F Bond at every elementary campus in the district. “Measure F provided the capital and, now, The Irvine Company is providing the missing funding that will enhance the science education of every fourth- through sixth-grade student in the district,” said Dr. Jeffrey C. Hubbard, superintendent, Newport Mesa Unified School District. “The Irvine Company has continually supported education in the various communities that it serves, and this is another demonstration of their unequalled generosity.” The Irvine Company and the Donald Bren Foundation have a long history of consistent, generous and passionate support of education in the school districts located on The Irvine Ranch. They have invested more than $200 million supporting students, teachers, principals, individual schools, school districts, universities and university scholars on The Irvine Ranch. Further, The Irvine Company’s innovative education philanthropy, public policy initiatives and comprehensive planning have helped create and sustain some of the most successful and highly recognized school districts in the State of California. Over the years, Newport-Mesa Unified School District schools have consistently demonstrated excellence; schools show progress each year on a variety of standardized tests, and district scores on California Standards Tests annually exceed county and state averages. In the fall, more than 87 percent of all schools in the district met their state and federal targets based on tests taken last year. In 2005-2006, four elementary schools were awarded the California Distinguished Schools Honor: California Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, Mariners Elementary and Victoria Elementary. Eastbluff School received Honorable Mention. In addition, Newport-Mesa Unified School District was the recipient of a Bill and Melinda Gates Grant to assist in opening a new school this fall, Early College High School. Educational excellence is the hallmark of schools on The Irvine Ranch, and a principal reason people choose to live on The Irvine Ranch. For more information about The Irvine Company’s investment in education, visit: http://www.goodplanning.org/principles/learn.asp. |
