The Importance of School & Community Partnerships
Presented by The Daily Journal, the following article by Stella M. Kemp, Ed.D., superintendent, congratulates the wonderful year that San Bruno has had developing our community!
“I am a firm believer that schools and community are one unit and partnerships with all sectors of the community are essential to helping children reach their maximum potential. Community collaboration with schools complements and reinforces values, culture and the learning opportunities that schools can provide for their students. In other words, all of us — teachers, staff parents, business, nonprofit, service clubs and the like — working together, truly make a difference in the lives of our students.
Beginning my third month as superintendent of San Bruno Park School District, I am very impressed with the past two years of concerted effort by the district to better connect with city and county leadership, service clubs, the nonprofit sector, the Chamber of Commerce and the business and corporate community. The results have been awards and grants, donations, programs, projects and partnerships that are flourishing. It is important for the community to know about the support our students and teachers are receiving from these partners, and to say thank you.
Business and nonprofit partnerships in public schools enable students to expand their horizons to see and experience the work place and what opportunities lie ahead for them. These partnerships make schools stronger. Examples of solid relationships the district enjoys in this regard are evident with San Bruno Chamber of Commerce bringing businesses and ideas to the district for collaboration and fundraising; Walmart sponsored the district’s Run to College program, helped fund Community Day and also joined HandsOn Bay Area to enhance the exterior of our schools; San Bruno Lions Club provides free vision screening to our students; San Bruno Rotary helps with Parkside Sister City exchange with students in Narita, Japan; through San Bruno Education Foundation, the San Bruno Community Foundation has funded a music initiative making music instruction available to all public school students in San Bruno including at Capuchino High School; also through the Education Foundation, the Welch Family Foundation is funding numerous programs such as music in preschool and district school field trips; the Danford Foundation has been generous with support for STEM and math; Recology San Bruno volunteers to teach students about protecting the environment; the city partners with our schools on library and recreation services and invites our talented students to perform at city meetings and events; San Mateo County Board of Supervisors provided funding for PE at several of our schools; Peninsula Health Care District has funded a Student Health Center; and the San Bruno Education Foundation, the fundraising arm of the district, provides ongoing support of programs and projects…”
