Osborn

Educational Foundation

The Mission of the Osborn Educational Foundation

is to enrich the educational and life experiences

of students of the Osborn School District

Preschool

Preschool students practice letters, read books and draw geometric shapes

Encanto School now offers a Preschool program for young students. Encanto had Preschool on its wish list for many years. Last year, with help from a private donation to the Osborn Educational Foundation, Encanto’s dream became a reality. While the state now funds all day Kindergarten, the only aid for Preschools is for Head Start, early childhood block grants, and Special Education. Eighteen students now enrolled are taught by Nicolaas Kooistra. Encanto continues to offer Head Start for young students whose family incomes fall below the poverty line. The new preschool allows parents who cannot qualify for Head Start, but whose income still falls within the federal range for assistance (following the free and reduced cost meal income guidelines) to have their children in a high quality program. Half of the students attend in the morning and half in the afternoon. The preschool is an inclusion program, meaning that Special Education students are taught alongside the other students. The small group allows each student to receive the attention they need while they learn vocabulary, classroom behavior, and social skills. Special Education, Speech Therapists and itinerant instructors also have regular visits to the classroom to provide needed services. The average student: teacher ratio is 6:1.

Kid's Read CELEBRATES 11 YEARS

3rd Grade Students, Encanto School & Longview School 2006-07

On September 12th, 2007, more than 50 Encanto third grade students and over 100 of their parents and siblings came to school early. They came for this year’s first Kids Read Program. Encanto’s new Principal Michael Robert read Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema and then each third grader chose a paperback book from Barnes & Noble to keep. This particular event was special because it marks the 11th anniversary of the Kids Read Program at Encanto. Begun in the fall of 1996 by Osborn Educational Foundation’s Director Eileen Bailey, Kids Read promotes literacy and the love of reading together. The program has expanded to all third grade students in the Osborn District. The Kids Read program occurs nine times throughout the year. Third grade children who attend with a parent receive a free paperback book of their choice. At two of the events (December and Dr. Seuss' Birthday) all 3rd grade students in the Osborn School District are given a hard cover book.

Thanks to very generous support from the Remington Family Foundation and the Macayo / Johnson family, Kid's Read will be able to expand its support of the Osborn District students! The Bombeck Family Foundation and the Kax Herberger Estate have been significant contributors along with Solano alum Janice Montana. Early funding was provided by the Theodor Geisel Foundation (Dr. Seuss's estate).

3rd Grade Students, Montecito School 2005-06

We have had many noteworthy community readers in the past, including Mayor Phil Gordon, past Mayor Skip Rimza, The Phoenix West Rotary Club, Joe Garragiola and our own Eileen Bailey to name a few. Email us here for more information or to find out how you can participate as a guest reader.

Ballet Program 3rd Year Ballet Students, Clarendon School 2006   A new program for the foundation generously supported by private donation, grants and school tax credit. Instructor Camden Lloyd who has demonstrated great commitment to offer Ballet free of charge to inner-city minority students, has run the Ballet program for the last four years. The Foundation has raised funding to purchase new shoes, practice and performance clothing, as well as funding field trips and visiting artists.   For the last five years Clarendon and Encanto Ballet Program students have learned about the Nutcracker, read and compared various versions of the story, attended excerpts performed for school matinees and full performances. Last year a small group of ambitious students was ready to try for more. On Saturday September 8, twelve Clarendon students and one Osborn Middle School student auditioned for children's' parts in Ballet Arizona’s current production of Nutcracker. It was an exciting experience. The group did a great job and six students were accepted. They rehearsed every Saturday to prepare for the performances which began in early December. One student, was selected to perform with two casts. He completed a total of 19 performances- some were back to back! Osborn Ballet Program students will have the opportunity to learn from both sides of the curtain again this year- assuming some are selected.   Nutcracker performers 2007, auditioning for Nutcracker 2007, after auditions 2007 1st Year Ballet Students, Encanto School / 2nd Year Ballet Students Clarendon School 2006   For more information, and the opportunity to support this fantastic educational opportunity either through Arizona Tax Credit Donations or Charitable Tax Deductible Donations, please visit the Ballet webpage. Thank you Ms. Lloyd, Mr. & Mrs. Rust!

Fitness in Full Swing at OMS

Rene Bilbaud graced Osborn Middle School with her Hot Dog rope jumping at their Fitness assembly in March. Rene has a great lesson for us all- Don't compare yourself to others, work at your own pace; Have your heart in the right place, keep a good attitude; and It doesn't matter if  you make a mistake, just keep working. She was an inspiration to the middle school students and faculty alike.    Rene Bilbaud has won five world championships; toured the world with Cirque do Soleil; and now runs her own business, Ropeworks, with a mission of youth motivation and fitness. She holds the world record 721 jumps in 2 minutes- that's just over 6 jumps a second!

Rene Bilbaud from Ropeworks 2007

Washington, D.C. Program

Nick de la Torre/The Arizona Republic

Brian Holman, a government teacher at Osborn Middle School, talks with Kathy Araiza (left) and Conra Monroe about making a bill. The girls will be among the students going to Washington, D.C., with Holman.

Brian Holman has doubled the size of his Washington, D.C. Program to encompass 20% of the eighth grade students. This year 60 students are working hard to earn a place to visit our country's capital.

Our Washington, D.C., Program was designed to provide students with the civic knowledge of how our great country operates, along with the motivation and inspiration to get involved.  Students complete the following program model:

	Log dozens of hours of after school research on social issues and craft legal solutions to identified areas of concern;
	Complete 10 hours of community service;
	Achieve excellence in the classroom and in after-school activities;
	Model academic excellence for their peers;
	Maintain exceptional attendance throughout the entire school year;
	Attend the class trip to Washington D.C., document their experiences, and share them with others after they return.
	After only one year of the program, the impact can be seen in the high schools where these students are currently flourishing. Consider the following examples of achievement from D.C. Kids:
	Lorena Morena ran for Central High School’s freshman class president this fall and won.
	Freshman Sayda Rosales picked up an extra math class to challenge herself to excel even further. Sayda also helps students in her old math class as a teacher’s aide—even though many of them are juniors and seniors.
	Freshman Anthony Esposito earned a spot playing percussion with his school band in the state competition earlier this fall.

For more information, and the opportunity to support this fantastic educational opportunity either through Arizona Tax Credit Donations or Charitable Tax Deductible Donations, please visit the Washington DC Trip Webpage.  

After School Sports Program

Baseball, Osborn School District, 2006

Supported generously by Price Kong & Co, the Osborn School District After School Sports Program has expanded to include five sports for the students: Volleyball, Soccer, Basketball, Track and Baseball. Click here to see sports calendar. This year Price Kong & Co had their Annual Golf Tournament at the Whirlwind Golf Course on November 3rd, 2006.  This event brought in approximately $18,000 to be used for Osborn's After School Sports Program. 

Thank You Price Kong & Co! 

Please email for more information.

YES, I want to support Osborn students with a Tax Deductible and/or a Working Poor Arizona Tax Credit donation to the Osborn Educational Foundation.

(This is not an AZ Tuition Tax Credit Donation.)

• After-school Sports

• Ballet

• Career Day

• Dinosaur Preschool

• Encanto Preschool

• KidsRead

• Nutrition Education

• Teacher Mini-grants

• Washington DC Trip

• Where most needed

If you would like more information about the AZ Working Poor Tax Credits, please click here.

If you would like to make an AZ Tuition Tax Credit Donation to an Osborn School, please click here.

If you would like to know more about the difference between the types of donations, please click here.

Thank you for your support!

Nutrition & Exercise Training Pilot

Made possible by a grant from Catholic Healthcare West/ St Joseph's Hospital, the Nutrition & Exercise Training (NET) pilot project will focus on providing fun and informative nutritional instruction targeted to students who come from disadvantaged living situations encountered within the Osborn School District. The nutrition classes will be piloted in conjunction with the ballet classes for the 3rd-6th grade male and female children who study ballet. Each Nutrition class will consist of a nutritious snack, a lesson from a curriculum designed to develop healthy eating habits and address childhood obesity, and a fun follow-up activity. 

This nutrition instruction coupled with the rigorous ballet dance program will make a positive impact on the health of our students, and give them the skills to make improved nutritional choices for their health. The purpose of the pilot is to develop materials to expand to the greater student population in the Osborn School District. 

Thank you St Joseph's Hospital & Catholic Healthcare West!

Please email for more information.

SCOPES Preschool Program

"Dinosaur School"

Recently funded by JP Morgan Chase to provide a positive, science-based and child friendly program that supports literacy and successful school behaviors to at-risk children at their earliest point of entry to the educational system. The Dinosaur School Classroom based program is designed to be delivered two times each week with corresponding activities to reinforce each concept.  The program uses vignettes of other children encountering problems and applying the skills of the program.  The hallmark of the program are the life-sized (3 foot) puppets that assist in delivering the program by engaging the children in role plays and discussions of feelings, problem identification and practice of various solutions and rehearsal of self-soothing and emotion regulation skills. These puppets incorporate the play therapy concept of entering the child’s world to facilitate learning and the children become more willing to practice literacy and problem solving as they engage with these amiable puppets.

Thank you JP Morgan Chase!  

Please email for more information.

Volunteers in Our Schools

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Teacher Mini-Grants

The fall 2008 Teacher Mini-Grant cycle is now closed. We have had a record number of fine applications received. Applications which have not been approved by principals will not be considered. A final report is due on or before May 16, 2009.

Thank you and good luck!

Spring 2008
Beus	FieldsENC	FieldsMCS
Holman	Kingsland	Kohli
	Lively

Arizona Musical

Clarendon Dual Language teacher Aimee Kohli will use the funds to purchase books for her classroom library so students can compare literary translations of various versions of Don Quixote. Solano teacher Marcia Beus will use the funds to purchase cameras to photograph desert plants and animals during the class’ annual North Mountain Desert Hike to help students properly identify desert flora/fauna and create oral reports with posters. Montecito teacher Michelle Kingsland’s students will learn to crochet as part of writing unit on 'following directions' in their special education classroom. Crocheting can also help increase students’ hand/eye coordination. Osborn Middle School teacher Brian Holman will use the funds to support 8th grade students’ tour of the state capitol and state legislature. Physical Education teacher Debbie Fields received two mini-grants. She will use one to purchase agility equipment for Encanto students to learn movement and spatial awareness, concentration, focus, coordination, footwork, agility, and stamina. Ms. Fields will use the 2nd grant to purchase equipment for tethered tennis; a game Montecito students will play to improve hand/ eye coordination and fitness. Solano Kindergarten teacher Victoria Lively will purchase a classroom camera so the learners in her Structured English Immersion classroom can use photographs of their personal experiences to acquire new language skills. Each picture will truly be “worth a 1000 words”!’

Fractured Fairytales

Montecito 5th Grade Teacher Pam Bond purchased timers and materials to create data for students chart while including fitness and coordination building in her classroom. Encanto Health Technician Randy Woods purchased anatomical models to be used in anatomy based wellness lessons. Solano Music Teacher Richard Sanders produced “Arizona Musical” with fourth grade students and intends to purchase risers to support future productions. Encanto RTC Teacher Ed Morgan purchased materials to promote healthy attitudes towards teamwork which he supervises during recess. Osborn Middle School Health Teacher Craig Johnston purchased materials for instruction in child development and taking care of preschoolers. Encanto 1st Grade Teachers Kristin Hoese & Jill Holschbach purchased portable listening/reading centers so that their first grade students can practice reading skills at home. Encanto 3rd Grade Teachers Renee Hamill & Kelly Kesterson-Walker purchased cameras for student use in illustrating and bringing to life fractured fairytales created in class. Physical Education Teacher Debra Fields received two mini-grants- one to purchase juggling pins and supporting materials so that Montecito students can work on coordination skills while learning to juggle. The other to purchase ‘Dance Dance Revolution’, a fun dance pad with light-up panels to support Encanto student fitness. Clarendon Physical Education Teacher Nola Johnson purchased supplies necessary to run the Presidential Fitness program for the Clarendon students.

Spring 2007
Dulas	Hamill
Heath	McConnell
Price

Third Grade Dirt Making; Third Grade Writing Project

Longview Preschool & Special Education Teacher Mary Dulas purchased seeds and garden supplies for students. Encanto 3rd Grade Teachers Renee Hamill & Susan Wiseman facilitated a writing workshop for their students with Author, Barbara Gowan. Each student created a poem about nature on an alphabet theme, and then produced a lovely book celebrated by reading their contribution to the community. Solano 3rd Grade Teacher Nancy Donna Heath purchased materials to raise several different forms of aquatic life in the classroom. Clarendon 4th, 5th & 6th Grade Teacher Olivia McConnell purchased sets of materials to work with students' phonics skills. Encanto 3rd Grade Teachers Ginny Horlings & Nancy Price purchased materials for their classroom 'We Are Making Dirt!' project. Students practiced recycling and composting their own dirt to be used in raised beds and student gardens.

Last fall 12 Mini-Grants were selected to support our teachers and 2,383 students during the spring of 2007 at a total cost of $3,425.70, or $1.44 per student.

Fall 2006
Dixon	FieldsEnc
FieldsMCS	Hilgers
Hodder	Holman
Holmstedt	Johnson
Kearney	4th Grade LloydCL
3rd Grade LloydENC	Tran

Garden Project

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Susan Morley Merit Scholarship

The Susan Morley Merit Scholarship was established to celebrate the life of one of OMS' great teachers. Eighth grade students can apply for the scholarship, the winner of which receives a scholarship for books and materials needed in high school. For more information and to apply, visit this link: SMMS

This year’s Susan Morley Merit Scholarship was awarded to an outstanding student from Osborn Middle School: Miss Patel. Next year Miss Patel plans to attend the North High International Baccalaureate Program. We wish her the best in high school!  

Last year's recipients were Mr. Alvarado and Miss Rodriguez. Miss Rodriguez attends Metro Tech High School; Mr. Alvarado attends the North High IB Program.

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A Big 'Thank You'

We are most grateful to the community leaders and organizations that have supported Osborn Educational Foundation projects:

 

	AZ Community Foundation
	Arizona Public Service Co
	Ballet Arizona
	Bank of America
	Barnes & Noble Booksellers
	Board of Visitors
	Catholic Healthcare West
	Desert Canyon Pediatrics
	Erma Bombeck Family Foundation
	Finks Foundation
	Firestone Foundation
	Flinn Foundation
	Gannett Foundation
	Audrey Geisel (Dr Seuss Foundation)
	Heard Museum
	Honeywell Foundation
	Judd Herberger
	JP Morgan Chase Bank
	Johnson Family Foundation
	Make A Difference
	Mercy Healthcare Arizona
	Janice Borovay Montana
	Libraries Unlimited
	OASIS Intergenerational Reading Tutors
	Price Kong & Company
	Remington Family Trust
	Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP)
	Rotary International
	St Joseph’s Hospital & Medical Center
	St Luke's Charitable Health Trust
	Schaller Anderson
	Screen Actors Guild (SAG)
	Season For Sharing
	State Farm Insurance
	United Healthcare
	Valley of the Sun United Way
	Virginia G. Piper Trust
	Thomas Wright Foundation
	YMCA Christown Branch

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Tax Deductible Giving Opportunities
Support the Foundation	Leave a Legacy	State Tuition Tax Credit

   For more information on partnerships or opportunities to give,

call Sindi Westberg at (602) 707-2032 or email here

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This page last updated  October 14, 2008