• The Brookline Education Foundation @ PreK-8
• The Brookline Education Foundation @ BHS
• Auction for Education
• 25 Years of Making a Difference
• What Is the Green Apple Society?
• 2006 “Win a Mini” Raffle

Award-winning author Tobias Wolff spoke with BHS students and faculty during his 2-day visit to Brookline in October, co-sponsored by the Todd Saker Endowment of the Brookline Education Foundation.

A 2005 BEF Grant enabled Physics teacher, Stacy Kissel, shown here with NASA astronaut Bruce Melnick, to experience weightlessness on a
zero-gravity flight. A film of her flight on the G-Force One will be used in BHS Physics classes.

Language Arts Teacher Experiences Steinbeck's World

An hour after stepping off the plane in San Jose last summer, Lincoln School's 7/8 Language Arts teacher Pat Rigley realized that her study of writer John Steinbeck had taken an exciting turn. Rigley, the recipient of the 2005 Adam Russell Gelfand Fellowship and of a Brookline Education Foundation teacher grant, wanted to enhance her understanding of Steinbeck's portrayals of migrant workers. She had been in contact with a California migrant worker/scholar/activist before leaving Brookline, but she had no idea that the contact would invite her to experience the lives and culture of contemporary migrant workers once she was actually in Steinbeck country.

"Living on adrenaline," Rigley had a chance to speak with Mexican field workers about wages and working conditions as well as go out in the fields herself.  She also managed to spend an afternoon with the archivist for the Center for John Steinbeck Studies at San Jose University. Her contact with the center has resulted in her "shrine," a wall in her classroom studded with photocopies of Steinbeck letters and manuscript pages for her students to examine. 

Rigley also made a literary pilgrimage to Monterey to see an exhibit on the sardine cannery, a way of life made famous by Steinbeck's Cannery Row, and traveled on to Salinas to see Steinbeck's birthplace. There, she wandered along the Salinas River until she found where she could imagine George killing Lenny in Of Mice and Men, a book she loves to teach. "Now that," she says, "was exhilarating!"

Teachers Take a Closer Look at Asian-American Minority

Nearly 18% of Brookline Public School students are from Asian or Pacific Island cultures. A 2005 Brookline Education Foundation collaborative grant, Unveiling the Invisible Minority: An Exploration of the Model Minority Myth, focuses on helping educators address the unique set of challenges facing Brookline’s Asian-American student population - the system’s largest minority group.

This grant funded workshops for the entire Brookline High School staff and over 150 elementary school teachers on the subject of the “model minority myth.” The workshops were run by J.D. Hokoyama, a national expert on Asian/Pacific Island issues, who defines this “myth” as a pervasive assumption that “Asian-Americans never get in trouble, always do well in school, and are quiet and self-sufficient.”

According to Hokoyama, there is a tremendous gap between myth and reality for Asian-Americans. Like every other minority in the US, they encounter discrimination and hostility. Many, especially new immigrants, struggle with poverty. Those who do poorly in school may be especially embarrassed because of societal and family expectations. High academic achievers can experience high stress due to parental pressure. Culturally, many are taught not to disclose problems or seek outside help, so often abuse and other serious issues go undetected.

When educators unwittingly buy into the model minority myth, Asian-American students who need assistance can find it difficult to obtain school or social services. Armed with the information provided by these workshops, over 350 Brookline educators now may be better able to recognize and address the problems of their Asian-American students.

The Brookline Education Foundation is celebrating our 25th Anniversary with an exciting Gala and Auction on Saturday, April 8, 2006. You can be a part of this unique fundraiser even if you cannot attend the live gala by participating in our online Auction for Education. Bidding begins on Wednesday, March 1, 2006.

Just envision yourself as the winning bidder of an afternoon of food and wine with nine of your closest friends at Rialto Restaurant, a thrilling glider plane ride, valuable Red Sox memorabilia and tickets, or any of over 100 items donated by supporters of the Brookline Education Foundation.

You can preview many of these items beginning on February 1, by clicking the AUCTION link at www.BrooklineEducation.org. The success of this online event depends on getting the word out to as many people as possible, so please share the news with your friends and family.

Remember to mark your calendars—the bidding starts on March 1st!

Twenty five years ago, there was a revolution brewing in Brookline over a new law, “Proposition 2 1/2.” The Brookline School Committee forcefully expressed the rallying cry of the insurgents: “…we stand with the citizens of Brookline who will not tolerate less than excellence in their schools.”

What caused such unrest among Brookline Public School advocates? As a result of Prop 2 ½, almost 20% of the $16 million school budget had to be cut; 90 teachers and staff lost their jobs; entire programs, such as instrumental music, were eliminated; and funds for “extras” like professional development disappeared.
Rather than concede defeat, concerned citizens formed the Brookline Education Foundation to reduce the impact of these massive budget cuts. Starting with a modest investment of $11,000 in private funds in our public schools in 1981, the Brookline Education Foundation has given more than $3 million in grants to teachers, administrators, and the system as a whole over the past 25 years.
This year we are celebrating the difference the Foundation’s efforts have made in the lives of our teachers and our children since 1981—but it’s not a time to relax. Today, all but a small fraction of the Brookline Schools’ budget is committed to mounting fixed costs. The money that the Foundation raises continues to make a tremendous difference by funding vital programs that the system cannot otherwise afford.

Twenty five years later, Brookline still will not tolerate less than excellence in our public schools! Please join us in commemorating our 25th Anniversary and also in making this a milestone year for the Brookline Education Foundation.

The Green Apple Society is a diverse of group of donors whose extraordinary generosity strengthens our ability to fund collaboration among teachers and schools, professional development for Brookline’s educators, and unique experiences that enrich students in all nine Brookline Public Schools.

Members of the Green Apple Society are invited to attend our “Learn Something New Every Day” events. Last spring, members were treated to dinner, a lecture, and slide show by noted photographer Abe Morell, who spoke about his life as a Cuban immigrant and his recent work using camera obsura. This fall, celebrated author Tobias Wolff dined with Green Apple Society members, read from his book In Pharaoh’s Army, and then spoke with humor and candor about his childhood and young adult years.

For information about joining the Green Apple Society, please call the Brookline Education Foundation at 617-232-3846.

With only 500 tickets available at $100 each, here’s what you might win in Brookline Education Foundation’s 2006 Raffle:

• 1st Prize: 2006 Mini Cooper or $12,000
• 2nd Prize: Apple iBook computer
• 3rd Prizes: 1 of 3 Apple iPod nano MP3 Players

Your odds of winning a prize are 1 in 100! Why not take a chance and support Brookline schools at the same time?
Tickets are available at the following locations during regular business hours:

• Audy's Mobil, 345 Boylston Street, Brookline
• Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard Street, Brookline
• The Children’s Bookshop, 237 Washington Street, Brookline
• Connelly Hardware, 706 Washington Street, Brookline
• Harvard Street Mobil, 198 Harvard Street, Brookline
• Village Photo, 639 VFW Parkway, West Roxbury
• Wild Goose Chase, 1431 Beacon Street, Brookline