Welcome to the Aim High Reach, the newsletter of Aim High! Stay connected with Aim High throughout the year with highlights from the program, news and happenings from our headquarters, and information on the many ingredients that make the Aim High recipe work for 23 years and counting.
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View more editions of the Aim High Reach: Sept 08 , Nov 08 , Dec 08, Feb 09, March 09, May 09, June 09
See Aim High in Action at Visiting Day
Cult Wines and Classic Cars Raises $50K for Aim High
New Partnerships in South Bay Connect Aim High, Charter Schools
Aim High Sites Get Organic Lunches for Summer 2009
Anticipating Aim High: Student and Teacher Look Forward to Program
See Aim High in Action at Visiting Days
We hope you will join us for a Visiting Day at an Aim High site this summer. Visiting Days give visitors the chance to see Aim High in action: talk to students and teachers, visit classes, and learn about Aim High’s work and plans for the future.
Visiting Days are also a chance to meet the supporters, board members, staff, and key advocates who are helping Aim High serve more than 1,000 students this summer.
All Visiting Days are from 8:00-9:30 AM, with light breakfast provided.
Visit the Aim High website to find more information on dates and locations, or contact Kat White by email (kat@aimhigh.org) or phone (415-551-2333) to find out more or RSVP.
Don’t miss this opportunity to see the program that has been changing lives in the Bay Area for 24 summers!
Cult Wines and Classic Cars Raises $50K for Aim High
More than 170 Aim High supporters came out on May 16th, 2009 to enjoy great wines, view the incredible classic car collection at Academy of Art University, and support summer education for Bay Area youth.
Chaired by Hildy Shandell and Glenn Shannon, Cult Wines and Classic Cars raised more than $50,000 for Aim High.
Hydra Mendoza, Education Advisor to the Mayor of San Francisco, spoke of Aim High’s vital place in the education landscape. Her daughter Ashoka will spend her 3rd summer with Aim High this year, and son Santiago will begin Aim High this summer.
Guests also heard about Aim High’s powerful impact from Viviana Montoya-Hernandez, who graduated Aim High in 1996 and now serves as a Site Director in East Palo Alto.
Support from the Academy of Art University, Bottlenotes, Charles Schwab, and more than 30 additional sponsors made the event an incredible success.
For more event photos and a complete list of sponsors, visit www.aimhigh.org/event.
New Partnerships in South Bay Connect Aim High, Charter Schools
This year, two new partnerships in the South Bay will help Aim High reach families in need and build strong ties to the South Bay’s education community.
In Redwood City, Aim High’s summer site, which was founded last year, will move to the campus of Summit Preparatory High School.
Summit Prep opened in 2003 and its charter management organization, The Summit Institute, is slated to open a second location – Everest Public High School – in fall 2009.
In East Palo Alto, Stanford New Schools will open its East Palo Alto Academy High School campus to host Aim High’s summer program.
Stanford New Schools, a non-profit organization formed in collaboration with the Stanford University School of Education, operates two charter schools – one kindergarten through eighth grade school and one high school - serving East Palo Alto students.
Nikki Lasley of Stanford New Schools looks forward to bringing Aim High’s myriad learning opportunities to the SNS community. “Middle school students will be exposed to life beyond high school through the rigorous and exciting summer school program. Also, some of our high school students are gaining an excellent opportunity to grow as leaders by mentoring middle school youth as Teaching Assistants.”
Aim High Sites Get Organic Lunches for Summer 2009
The Aim High summer program has always included lunch at no cost to students, but this year, Aim High is able to provide a lunch that is fresh, healthy, organic, and delicious – even to the middle school palate.
Revolution Foods, a Bay Area company that supplies schools and community organizations with meals for student lunch programs, will provide all of the lunches for Aim High’s 6 sites in San Francisco and 2 sites in the South Bay, as well as 40% of the meals for 3 Aim High sites in Oakland.
Founded in 2006, Revolution Foods addresses a school lunch landscape increasingly overrun with fast foods, packaged snacks, and fat-and sugar-loaded options by freshly-made meals of organic and often local ingredients to school cafeterias. Partnerships with Whole Foods, Clover-Stornetta Dairies, Niman Ranch, and more allow Rev Foods to offer meals and educational materials to schools at a reasonable price.
This summer, Rev Foods is serving more meals than ever. A gift from a San Francisco 49ers player will allow several San Francisco community organizations, including the Boys and Girls Club and Aim High, to take advantage of this Bay Area resource.
While Aim High has long provided balanced meals at San Francisco sites through the Mayor’s Lunch program, the new organic offerings will be cause for celebration at several Aim High sites, where students have initiated a letter-writing campaign and a Facebook cause on behalf of improved nutrition.
With the summer program just a few short weeks away, Aim High interviewed a student about to begin his first summer at Aim High and a graduate returning for the first time as a teacher to find out how they’re feeling about this summer.
Meet Santiago
Santiago Alvarez is a rising 6th grader who will begin Aim High at SF Community School this year. His older sister is starting her 3rd summer at Aim High’s Lick-Wilmerding site.
AH: Why are you excited about attending Aim High this summer?
SA: I am excited about meeting new friends and learning a lot of things. I'm excited about everything.
AH: Is there anything you're nervous about?
SA: I'm nervous about being nervous. I'm nervous about being with the older kids. I'm nervous about everything!
AH: What do you think Aim High will help you get better at?
SA: I think Aim High will help me learn better. It will help me get better at socializing. I'm not too sure about everything because this is my first year and I don't know all the things we'll get to know.
Meet Demarcus
Demarcus Cottonham, a rising 11th grader, graduated from Aim High in 2007. He will return to his home campus at SF Community School as a Teaching Assistant for Summer 2009.
AH: Why did you choose to return as a teacher at Aim High?
DC: I went to the program and liked it, so I wanted to help the program that helped me. I like working with kids, and that’s a step to figuring out what I want to do with my career – maybe something with kids.
AH: What are you nervous about? What do you think will be challenging about being a teacher?
DC: I’m nervous that I might not remember some things! I’m best at Algebra, so I’m hoping to teach that.
AH: What impact do you hope to have on students?
DC: A lot of kids at Aim High go through what I’ve been through, having a hard time at school or at home, so I want to be role model for them. I want to help them if they have questions about how to make school or life easier.
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View more editions of the Aim High Reach: Sept 08 , Nov 08 , Dec 08, Feb 09, May 09
Aim High is gearing up for another strong year serving Bay Area students and families - but we need your help to serve a thousand kids in a year when they need us most. Please forward this newsletter to friends and colleagues. To find out about other ways to support Aim High, visit Aim High's Support Page.
For more information on any of these topics, contact Kat White, Communications Coordinator, by email or phone: 415-551-2333.