Your Donations Help Students Soar

Thanks to your generosity, our students are soaring. You made these stories of success possible!

Elementary School: Lucy is Diabetic, but Thriving Thanks to Your Donations

Lucy is a 2nd grader in our schools. She’s bubbly, bright, and curious. And, last summer, on the same day as her school’s year-end picnic, Lucy was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes.

So, this means that every day before PE she has her glucose levels checked to find out if she’ll need a glucose tab before running around on the yard. And, every day before lunch Lucy talks with the nurse about what she is going to eat, and together they count her carbs.

Think about your own children. You likely ask them or check their lunch box every night to see if they ate their lunch, just hoping that they actually did before getting distracted by the monkey bars or the kickball game or whatever else was going on that might have been more exciting than actually eating lunch.

Imagine the added stress of not just wondering if they ate but also wondering if your children counted their carbs correctly and ate just the right amount of everything to keep their glucose levels good through the afternoon.

And now imagine doing that without a trained adult on campus to help. For many kids in California, that is exactly what’s happening. The state does not fund full time health office staff at most schools, leaving busy administrators and teachers who really aren’t trained for this to fill the void.

But, because of donations to the Ed Foundation, our largest elementary schools have full time health office staff on campus. Donations to the Ed Foundation mean that kids like Lucy have a trusted health professional down the hall to check her glucose levels and food every day. And, if something does go wrong, there is health worker on campus to help right away.

We know about Lucy because her father reached out to the Ed Foundation to thank us and share his appreciation for the nursing team who helped his daughter as they made all the arrangements needed after her diagnosis. As he said, “to know someone is there to give her the fast acting sugars if her levels are too low is crucial. It’s everything for us.”

But really the thanks go to our donors, the people that make health office specialists possible in our schools!


Middle School: From Shy to Thriving: The Power of Music

Santa Monica’s schools see 9,000 students pass through their doors every day. Including Luke, a 6th grader, who faced a daunting challenge when he had trouble fitting in at his new middle school. Feeling like he didn’t belong, Luke took to combing his long hair down over his face and walking to school a half hour before any other student just to hide out in the music room. Luke’s music teacher took notice and invited him to use his time learning different instruments.

In a state where funding for public education hovers around 41st out of 50 states, arts programming is frequently the first to be cut. In Santa Monica, however, the visual and performing arts are as valuable a component of the school day as math and science classes.

For Luke, the arts were transformative. Luke discovered a passion for percussion instruments, worked his way up to the most advanced band, and later went on to travel to nine countries with his high school band. Luke found his school family, regained his confidence, and began wearing his hair away from his face to reveal a wide, bright grin.

Luke’s experience represents the opportunities that can be made available to every student, but only with your help. While not every student wants to become a professional musician (including Luke, who is currently pursuing a law degree), every student deserves an excellent education that will enrich their lives and prepare them to succeed in their future.


High School: Emily Found her Love for STEM

Affordable housing design. Biofuel production. App development. These are all hands-on, real-world challenges students face in their Project Lead the Way engineering classes at Samohi, thanks in part to your donation to the Ed Foundation.

“The most impactful thing about Project Lead the Way was realizing that anyone can be an engineer and engineering is everywhere. As a freshman, engineering sounded daunting, filled with incomprehensible concepts. I discovered that engineering is about solving problems creatively as I designed my own desk organizer, toy car, and Rubik’s Cube. Most importantly, I enjoyed the challenge of this class, and was even inspired to join Samohi’s Youth Engineering Club, where I was secretary and treasurer for three years.”

- Emily, Samohi Class of 2018


And Beyond!

Thanks in part to your support, Samohi alumni are starting college in 30 states and 6 countries this fall.