By Jack Casey Olympic HS
You wrote an excellent article on the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation (SMDP, May 31, page 1). I’ve been teaching students in the SMMUSD, who are often from disadvantaged backgrounds, for 25 years. From its inception the Education Foundation has provided additional funding for technology that otherwise would not have been available to them.
The foundation provided Olympic High School with its first modem in what is tech eons ago. Our students were online and conversing with students from around the country and around the world (at 300 baud!) long before most district students even had a computer in their classroom. The knowledge, understanding, and tolerance of other cultures that this little step up provided our students was priceless — yet without the Education Foundation’s efforts, it would not have been possible.
SMMEF funded our first scanner, our first digital camera, and our first laser printer. From these grants came our Desktop Publishing Program and our school newspaper.
Hundreds of students have learned to express themselves more clearly and professionally since then.
SMMEF funded and then embraced the Tech4All program which has refurbished over 100 donated computers and gifted them to the families of disadvantaged students in our community.
Linda Gross, Cheri Orgel and Ralph Mechur deserve repeated accolades for their years of selfless service to our community.
Thank you SMMEF!
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 3, 2004. Read the original PDF.