Every Student. Every School. Every Day. DONATE!
Supporting Our Schools Makes a Real Impact
Pasadena Educational Foundation harnesses the power of our committed community to help to raise between $12 and $15 million dollars a year for the Pasadena Unified School District. Those funds include large government grants, foundation grants, and individual donations, which together help us support myriad essential programs from the large to the small. Some programs are run by PEF, others by PUSD, and still others represent various levels of partnership. From the smallest Friendship Bench to the largest Magnet Program, PEF works with our community partners to impact every student, every school, every day!
With support from our community we:
- Raised millions in grant money for our schools, including the $14.5 million Federal Magnet Grant.
- Helped PUSD to integrate arts education at every grade level through grants from the Rothenberg Art Fund and Tony Bennett’s Exploring the Arts Foundation.
- Piloted the middle school performing arts program, Open Stage serving 300 students at 5 schools with a $79,500 NEA Grant.
- Led 8,000 K-6 grade students on a cultural and artistic journey through 10 of our local world class museums with our My Masterpieces program. PEF was awarded a $20,000 Art Alliance Image Award to help support the My Masterpieces program.
- Expanded early education dance and theatre programs with integrated arts curriculum from PreK through the second grade throughout the district.
- Awarded 136 Teacher Grants to 169 educators including 18 school-wide grants totaling more than $2303 ,000.
- Provided transportation for approximately 300 class field trips for thousands of students through our Field Trip Fund.
- Assisted in securing buses to take every third grader to learn water safety and swimming skills in the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center’s PUSD swim program.
- Bolstered access to vital services and healthy living resources at the new Office of Student and Family Services headquartered at Madison Elementary in the heart of our Northwest Pasadena community.
- Provided scholarships almost 40% of our more than 1,000 Summer Enrichment Program students.
- Distributed more than $85,000 in college scholarships.
- Secured $25,000 to provide summer internship stipends for 130 high school students.
- Supported each school’s Annual Fund efforts which collectively raised over $1.000,000.
- Developed the nationally recognized Realty Initiative to partner with our community’s realtors to disseminates accurate information about our public schools.
- Expanded the School-Community Gardens to include 9 beautiful edible gardens and outdoor classrooms, including a master gardener and farm to table programs.
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Supported the expansion of athletic programs and facilities including the renovation of Stadium 42, John Muir’s baseball field and a new scoreboard at Blair.
- Developed and incubated inventive STEM programs, such as the App Academy at Pasadena High, middle school robotics, 3D printing and virtual reality stations, and the new Math Academy that is radically accelerating mathematics instruction.
- And more…
We are making our schools and our community stronger. We couldn’t do it without you!
OUR STORIES
Here are our latest updates & stories.
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Read Across America 2023: Adventures In the Written Word
Last week Pasadena Unified School District elementary schools invited members of the community back into their classrooms to share their childhood favorite stories for Read Across America. This year’s event…
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Civil Liberties: Seeing the Past in the Present
by Sehba Sarwar In late January 2023, three weeks before the eightieth anniversary of US President Franklin Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, 250 students from all five Pasadena Unified high schools…
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Building for Tomorrow – Bluebeam Supports PUSD School Gardens
School gardens are places where students study everything from the basic cycles of nature to the latest ways scientists advise the world to tackle climate change. As time continues to…
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S. Mark Taper Foundation Awards PEF $75,000 [Media Release]
Pasadena Educational Foundation Receives a $75,000 Grant from the S. Mark Taper Foundation Grant will support Pasadena Unified School District Families in Transition PASADENA, CA – Pasadena Educational Foundation (PEF)…
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Why We Do What We Do – Families In Transition
The holidays are the time of the year when we instinctively think of others. We volunteer our time. We consider who in our community may have less. And, most importantly,…
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Amplifying PUSD Student Voices
Editor’s Note: As part of PEF’s commitment to raising the voices of our students, we are featuring a selection of opinion articles and other works written by students. by Morgan…
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Making Our Public School Community Stronger in 2022
Everyone at PEF is thankful for the support of our donors, volunteers, and partners. Together we have done wonderful things for our public school community. Thank you for actively supporting…
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PEF Awards $200,000 in Grants to PUSD Teachers [Media Release]
More than 100 teachers joined the parade in decorated cars to receive their awards. PASADENA, CA – Pasadena Unified (PUSD) teachers and principals received $200,000 in grants thanks to the…
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PUSD Student Journalists Engage at ED Talk
Pasadena Educational Foundation invited Pasadena Unified School District students from the Student Think Tank and John Muir Early College Magnet’s Arts, Entertainment, and Media Academy to be on-site reporters at…
Help Our Schools Thrive!
With your support the Pasadena Educational Foundation helps to create a vibrant and enriching educational experience for all public school children in Pasadena, Altadena, and Sierra Madre.