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Leland High School A National Blue Ribbon School A New American High School A California Distinguished School Home of the Chargers |
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Leland High School A National Blue Ribbon School A New American High School A California Distinguished School Home of the Chargers |
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Leland Foundation
Fundraising Campaign
Leland Foundation board members. Front row (L to R), Janet Romero, Wenlin Chen, Ai-chu Wang, Angel Reyda, Sandy Engel and Neil Weinstein. Back Row (L to R) Garrett Rajkovich, Jim Vye, Alex Stuart, Dave Cameron, Jeff Ramona, Tom Rouse, Susan Votaw, Gary Rummelhoff, Sandy Delvin. Not Pictured, William Offenberg, Pat Dando, John Kane, Bryan Lee and Pete Wellington. The 2001-2002 school year marks the beginning of the third year of Leland High School’s transformation project, as the school continues it's efforts to turn itself into a high-tech facility that will prepare it's students for college and high-paying careers in the Silicon Valley. It's all about the kids,” replied President Janet Romero. "We want to give them the competitive advantage they need to be successful in their careers and college pursuits." The Leland Foundation, established in 1997 by Leland High School parents and alumni, is committed to helping students and educators prepare for the demands and opportunities of the 21st century, with focus on improving academic achievement through excellence in education. It's vision is to transform Leland High School into an innovative, educational environment that delivers a variety of forward-thinking solutions, with traditional courses offered in innovative ways. The first phase of the transformation focused on making grants available by the foundation for teacher support, using technology as a tool to enhance the curriculum. These grants have helped bring innovation to classrooms, including the Freshman Academy Program, physics department, advance placement/peer tutoring, foreign language, speech and debate and Multi-Media Speech Forum for ESL Students. To date, the foundation has funded six grants over a two-year period, and hopes to continue the trend in the coming years. The second phase focused on the renovation of its 30-year old library into a modern information and technology center. Over 1.6 million has been raised so far through the generous contributions of individual families and community partnerships. Scheduled to open in January, the technology center will provide state-of-the-art research and resources, wired to support several generations of technology for Leland students. Current projects include the renovation of the school's J-Wing, which will turn the former 1960's shop classroom complex into a vital 21st century Communications Center. The newly remodeled J=Wing will house a journalism, yearbook and photography complex, complete with a photo dark room, and will provide the facilities necessary for film making, animation, TV production and editing. A new foreign language lab will also be added, allowing students the opportunity to expand their knowledge, make connections with each other, and communicate with students across the country. Additionally, a computer lab will be installed, providing the students with computer programming and network design skills. The lab will facilitate access to college curriculums, made available through a partnership with West Valley College. Leland is also poised to make history this coming year by becoming the first high school to launch a satellite to space as part of in international project called CubeSat. Once in orbit, the satellite will send information back to earth, where the students will be able to monitor temperatures and operations on the CubeSat, and determine actual versus calculated life cycles of the components. The target launch date is scheduled for May 3, 2002. While bond measure funding will cover a portion of the costs related to the construction of the much anticipated communications center, many expenses still need to be recover. The Leland Foundation, in cooperation with the San Jose Unified School District is actively turning these dreams into reality by providing funding to upgrade the J-Wing, with the infrastructure necessary to support these programs. They have acquired a loan of $195,000 from the school district to support the electrical upgrades throughout the school, and have four years repay it. The Leland Foundation is asking for assistance in funding these and other exciting programs that will give students the competitive edge needed to compete in college. Romero commented on how the success of these programs is predicated on the support and contributions received. "What a great opportunity for the community to be a part of Leland High School's transformation project, and show their support" she said. "We're planning a dedication ceremony to celebrate the completion of Leland's New Information and Technology Center in January, 2002, which will serve to recognize donors for their generosity, and thank all who participated. Additionally, A wall of Fame will be erected, featuring the names of those contributing $1,000 or more." Persons interested in making a donation are asked to make checks payable to the Leland Foundation for Excellence in Education and mail to 667 Camden Avenue, San Jose, Ca 95120, or call (408) 535-6290 for more information on how you can help. All donations are tax deductible. |