BERKELEY, November 23, 2010—Berkeley Public Education Foundation (BPEF) (bpef-online.org) announced today the 2010 recipients of its annual Classroom Grants.  “Due to repeated annual budget cuts, our schools are in an exceedingly difficult spot which is reflected in the highest number of dollars requested and awarded for these grants in the organization’s history,” said Molly Fraker, Director of the nonprofit organization. “BPEF has answered the call.” Begun 27 years ago in a volunteer’s living room, BPEF has grown to become Berkeley’s single largest source of private outside funding to reach teachers and programs in every Berkeley public school, from Pre-K–12. BPEF believes that directly supporting teachers is one of the best  and most efficient ways to help students achieve and succeed.

The 2010 grants, 230 in all to over 300 teachers applying individually or in teams, range from $150 for a class of second graders to collect and publish their writing, to a $9,000 District-wide grant for books that support the newly adopted K-5 Language Arts program. A sampling of other grants include books and storytelling puppets for Franklin Pre-school teacher Karen Sudjian ($500); printmaking materials for Cragmont School’s Art teacher Joe McClain ($800); ten laptops for a portable computer lab requested by a team of teachers at Willard Middle School ($10,000); and half a dozen document cameras plus expanded wireless service for Berkeley High School humanities teachers ($3,000).

Unrestricted dollars that BPEF raises underwrite classroom grants, a large district-wide volunteer program and support for unique programs offered within the public schools by other organizations.  BPEF’s School Volunteers, initiated in 1991, brings donated time, talents and skills of over 2,000 community members into all Berkeley schools. Funded organizations include Berkeley Symphony, whose Music in the Schools serves nearly 4,000 students in all eleven elementary schools with a year-long program of instruction and performance; Community Resources for Science, which helps K-8 teachers in Berkeley build confidence in their science teaching by providing information and lessons, scientist volunteers and support with extracurricular activities; and the Writer Coach Connection, whose 250 volunteers, from Cal students to retirees, undergo six hours of rigorous training to prepare them for the job of coaching middle- and high-school student writers.

Berkeley Public Education Foundation was begun in 1983, when the impact of Proposition 13 property tax restructuring was beginning to be felt in public school classrooms.  A group of Berkeley parents and community leaders responded by establishing BPEF to raise awareness and funds on behalf of our city’s public school teachers and students, who were bearing the brunt of the dramatic reduction in public education financing.  This core leadership group began building an annual source of funding that educators could tap to enrich their classrooms and expand the horizons of their teaching. “BPEF has always been about enrichment, innovation and leadership,” said Fraker.

Highlights of BPEF’s many years of support include early seed funding for the Columbia Teachers College Reading and Writing Project which, with BPEF’s help, was piloted and then adopted as the new Language Arts curriculum across all Berkeley K-5 schools. In the early 1990s, BPEF was asked and accepted the challenge to raise an extra $1 million to build a Family Resource Center at Rosa Parks School during its reconstruction following the Loma Prieta earthquake. When music was in jeopardy in our schools for a year due to a funding gap, BPEF spearheaded a campaign raising over $300,000 to keep music teachers and instruction going uninterrupted.

Congratulations to the teachers who were awarded BPEF grants and to the all the students in Berkeley public schools who are the beneficiaries of the community’s donations and commitment to excellence.