$50,000 headed to 2 schools

Michael Miller

The Estancia and TeWinkle Schools Foundation announced last week that

it has granted nearly $50,000 for 12 projects -- eight from TeWinkle

Middle School and four from Estancia High School.

The foundation’s board of directors, advised by the principals of

both schools, approved $47,771.08 in total funds.

“The mission of the Estancia and TeWinkle Schools Foundation is to

award grant money to teachers with ideas that will enhance and

improve education for all students in the school,” said Chuck

Cassity, the foundation’s president. “In this age where discretionary

spending is abysmally low, kids have important things they’re not

getting.”

The 12 projects include orders for books, visual presenters,

remote control devices and computer equipment for special-education

students. Foundation members chose them from a list of more than 20,

eliminating requests that involved building enhancements and favoring

ones in the classroom.

“Some were for items that should be capital investments,” Cassity

said. “We don’t do bricks, mortar, things like that. We spend money

when teachers have really good ideas for how to improve teaching.”

While most of the applications were for classroom supplies, some

proposed extracurricular activities. TeWinkle instructor Jennifer

Moreno acquired $3,446.01 to start book clubs for her students;

Estancia teacher Tricia Ringer netted $5,810 for a field trip to

colleges in Northern California.

The Estancia and TeWinkle Schools Foundation is one of two

educational support groups in Costa Mesa. This spring, the Costa Mesa

High School Foundation -- which also covers the middle school housed

on the same campus -- awarded more than $40,000 in grants. Among the

faculty projects were an advanced-placement computer-science program

and a books-on-tape collection.

Frank Masciale, the chief financial officer for the Costa Mesa

High School Foundation, said the donations are substantial.

“With the programs we’ve been able to give grants to, if you talk

to the principals of the high school and junior high, they’re

thrilled with it,” he said.

The Estancia and TeWinkle Schools Foundation began in 2003 when

the Segerstrom family agreed to contribute $2 million to the city of

Costa Mesa for educational services. The agreement was a condition of

the Home Ranch development, an area that houses IKEA.

The Segerstroms promised $1 million each to the Costa Mesa High

School Foundation and the Estancia and TeWinkle Schools Foundation.

Under the agreement, according to deputy city clerk Julie Folcik,

each foundation may only spend the interest generated by the $1

million investment, and may not spend any portion of the initial

contribution beyond $5,000 without permission from the city.

Last year, the city allowed each foundation to spend up to

$50,000. The foundations combined that $50,000 with

interest-generated money for their 2004 grants.

* MICHAEL MILLER covers education and may be reached at (714)

966-4617 or by e-mail at [email protected].