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Pasadena Unified (PUSD) teachers and principals received $140,000 in grants thanks to the Pasadena Educational Foundation (PEF), College Football Playoff (CFP) Foundation, and Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association at this year’s PEF Teacher Grants Celebration & Parade on Tuesday, November 17. The grants, awarded yearly, benefit thousands of students in the public schools of Altadena, Pasadena, and Sierra Madre.
The 2020 PEF Teacher Grant winners decorated their cars and received their awards at the first-ever teacher celebratory parade in front of the PUSD district headquarters building. This year, 181 educators received awards representing 124 unique proposals from every school in the district. In addition, grants were awarded to PUSD Children Centers, PUSD Child Welfare and Safety, and Pasadena Adult Living Skills Center.
Many of this year’s grants focused on addressing the unique resource needs of distance learning such as remote dance & music performances, art exhibits, science experiments, and more. Ukuleles & percussion instruments, cameras to broadcast dance performances, take home art & science supplies, document cameras, and books in Spanish, French, Mandarin, and Armenian, are just a few of the diverse and vibrant educational projects that the 2020-21 PEF Teacher Grants are supporting.
“The goal of the PEF Teacher Grant Program is to promote the development of educational activities that will improve and enhance student achievement,” said PEF Executive Director, Patrick Conyers. “This year, our grants are especially meaningful, because they are helping excellent teachers find new and creative ways to engage their students during the pandemic. We are grateful to our partners at the College Football Playoff Foundation and Tournament of Roses, and to everyone who supports PEF. Their support makes this wonderful program possible.”
PEF also recognized three exemplary grant submissions with special awards: the Jarratt Brunson Memorial Award for Literacy honoring one of the founders of PEF responsible for initiating the Teacher Grant Program; the Kathy Onoye Principal’s Leadership Award given in honor of the former PUSD Executive Director of Elementary Education; and the Calvin Hunt Arts Award, that promotes and supports dedicated teachers enhancing arts education in PUSD.
A full list of this year’s award winners is available online here: http://pased.org/teachers
“We are thrilled to partner again with our friends at the Tournament of Roses to support the needs of Pasadena teachers,” said Britton Banowsky Executive Director of the College Football Playoff Foundation. “Educators need our help now, more than ever, as they rise to the challenge of keeping kids learning during these extraordinary times.”
Investing in the community has long been a cornerstone of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association and education is one of the areas in which they focus their support.
“Despite the many unique challenges of this moment, PUSD teachers have adapted, found creative ways to engage the students and they deserve our support now more than ever,” said Dr. Bob Miller, president of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association. “That is why the Tournament of Roses is especially proud to join the College Football Playoff Foundation to support PEF’s teacher grants program this year.”
PEF Teacher Grants help bring more creativity, innovation, and inspiration into our PUSD classrooms by providing the resources needed to help our teachers and principals take their creative projects from idea to reality and enhance the classroom experience for their students.
Pasadena Educational Foundation
Pasadena Educational Foundation (PEF) is a nonprofit organization that advocates for public education, engages the community, and develops resources to support excellent education for every Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) student. Whether it be through the arts, music, health centers, gardens, or STEM programs they support, PEF is dedicated to creating a better future for the public school students of Altadena, Pasadena, and Sierra Madre. http://pased.org
Pasadena Unified School District
The Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) serves pre-K to 12th grade students in a 76-square mile area that includes the communities of Altadena, Pasadena, Sierra Madre and unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County. Pasadena Unified School District provides a caring, engaging and challenging educational experience for over 17,000 students every day. http://pusd.us
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