Treasurer's Innovative Scholar Dollars Program Awards $300,000 to Support Under-Funded Extracurricular Activities, After-School Programs
20 K-8 Public and Charter Schools to Receive Grants Ranging from $5,000 to $25,000
/EINPresswire.com/ -- SACRAMENTO, CA--(Marketwired - April 24, 2017) - State Treasurer John Chiang today announced that 20 schools in California will be awarded grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 to support critical after-school programs and extracurricular activities.
"At a time when California schools struggle just to have the latest textbooks and basic supplies, programs that provide students with a well-rounded education often get tossed to the side," Treasurer Chiang said. "Our Scholar Dollars grants will help these schools fund exciting academic initiatives, from the expansion of arts and sciences programs to the construction of cutting-edge technology labs and state-of-the-art athletic facilities."
ScholarShare, California's 529 savings plan, administered the Scholar Dollars program. Eligible K-8 public and charter schools registered and then engaged their communities to vote for a chance to win one of the 20 available grants. Grants were available in varying amounts according to school size.
Scholar Dollars was immensely successful in its inaugural year, with more than 390 schools across the state registering and over 411,000 votes cast by parents, relatives, boosters and community members.
Winning schools came from the following cities: Burbank, Camarillo, Campbell, Carson, Castro Valley, Los Angeles, Northridge, Oakland, Sacramento, Santa Ana, South Gate, Visalia, Westminster and Windsor.
One of the grant winners, South Gate Middle School, a Title I school in South Gate that serves more than 2,000 students, plans to use the $25,000 grant to design a Makerspace and technology lab to encourage students to build, explore and create. The lab's goal is to help students develop critical thinking, communication, collaboration and problem-solving skills.
"Our school is overjoyed to have been selected to receive a Scholar Dollars grant," said Janet Mack, principal at South Gate Middle School. "The grant will give us the boost we need to create our innovation lab and broaden our scope of learning for our students."
Another grant recipient, Cali Calmecac Language Academy in Windsor, plans to use its $20,000 grant to purchase Google Chromebooks to help increase learning and aid in enrichment.
During the next month, Treasurer Chiang will visit select campuses across the state to present winning schools with their Scholar Dollars grant awards. View the full schedule, below.
To learn more about the grant program, visit MyScholarDollars.com.
Schedule of Award Presentations for Scholar Dollars Grants
4/24 -- Sacramento, Calif. (William Land Elementary School)
5/5 -- South Gate, Calif. (South Gate Middle School)
5/8 -- Castro Valley, Calif. (Golden Oak Montessori)
5/16 -- Westminster, Calif. (Sequoia Elementary School)
About the ScholarShare 529 College Savings Plan
To sign up for an account or for more information about the plan, visit www.scholarshare.com. For information about the ScholarShare Investment Board (SIB), visit www.treasurer.ca.gov/scholarshare. Like ScholarShare on Facebook at www.facebook.com/scholarshare529 and follow us on Twitter at @ScholarShare529.
Named for the section of the IRS code under which they were created, 529 plans offer valuable tax advantages. Contributions are made with money that has already been taxed. Once funds are placed in the account, investment earnings, if any, are not federally or state taxed, if withdrawn to pay for qualified higher education expenses.
The ScholarShare 529 College Savings Plan Twitter and Facebook pages are managed by the State Treasurer's Office.
List of Scholar Dollars School Winners
| School | City | Principal | Grant Amount | |||
| Francophone Charter School of Oakland | Oakland | Lori MacDonald | $5,000 | |||
| Golden Oak Montessori of Hayward | Castro Valley | Gena Engelfried | $5,000 | |||
| Village | Campbell | James Crawford | $5,000 | |||
| Magnolia Science Academy 7 | Northridge | Fatih Metin | $5,000 | |||
| Multnomah Street Elementary | Los Angeles | Narajphan Asavasopon | $10,000 | |||
| Sequoia Elementary | Westminster | Michelle Watkins | $10,000 | |||
| William Land Elementary | Sacramento | Ellen Carlson | $10,000 | |||
| Willmore Elementary | Westminster | Nicole Jacobson | $10,000 | |||
| Leonardo Da Vinci | Sacramento | Devon Davis | $15,000 | |||
| Shannon Ranch Elementary | Visalia | Tara Sharp | $15,000 | |||
| Judith F. Baca Arts Academy | Los Angeles | Tracye McWhorter | $15,000 | |||
| Monte Vista Middle | Camarillo | Joseph Herzog | $15,000 | |||
| Santiago Elementary | Santa Ana | Norris Perez | $20,000 | |||
| Luther Burbank Middle | Burbank | Oscar Macias | $20,000 | |||
| Sutter Middle | Sacramento | Cristin Tahara-Martin | $20,000 | |||
| Cali Calmecac Language Academy | Windsor | Jeanne Acuna | $20,000 | |||
| Stephen M. White Middle | Carson | Adaina Brown | $25,000 | |||
| Thomas Starr King Middle School Film and Media Magnet | Los Angeles | Mark Naulls | $25,000 | |||
| Alfred B. Nobel Charter Middle | Northridge | Derek Horowitz | $25,000 | |||
| South Gate Middle | South Gate | Janet Mack | $25,000 |
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