FoCRLS’ 100 by 100 Cambridge Business Community Scholarship Initiative reaches its first year $10K goal! (11/30/2015)
A BIG THANK YOU!!! Cambridge businesses ♥ CRLS!
FoCRLS’ 100 by 100 Cambridge Business Community Scholarship Initiative reaches its first year $10K goal!
Friends of CRLS thanks the following “100 by 100” Founding Donors for supporting the students of Cambridge with scholarship donations ranging from $100 to $2,000:
Arams #2 House of Pizza; Architectural Resources Cambridge ; Austin Architects; Bagelsaurus ; Barrell Plumbing & Heating Co. ; The Barrett Family; Beat Brasserie ; Black Ink ; Bonny’s Garden Center ; Boston Marriott Cambridge; Broadway Bicycle School ; Broadway Marketplace; Cambridge Auto Center; Cambridge Printing Company ; Cambridge Trust Company ; Carlone & Associates ; Charles Hotel ; Chestnut Hill Realty;; Club Passim ; Courthouse Seafood Susanna; Crema Cafe ; Custom Eyes ; Daedalus Restaurant ; Dickson Bros. Hardware ; Didriks ; Fleming Printing Co. ; Formaggio Kitchen; Forty Winks; Four Burgers; Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty ; Gnomon Copy; Grendel’s Den Restaurant and Bar; Harvard Book Store; Harvard Square Business Association; Hong Kong Restaurant; Irving House and Harding House; Local Root; Longleaf Lumber; M. F. Keane Contracting; Middle East Cambridge Bicycle ; Newbury Comics Porter Square Books ; Noble & Wickersham, LLP; OPositive Coaching & HR Services; Pann Home Services & Remodeling ; Petsi Pies; RV Print Solutions; S+H Construction, Inc.; Sheraton Commander Hotel; TAGS Hardware; Tayrona; Trinity Property Management ; University Stationery Company; and Zoe’s Restaurant.
A huge thank you too to Cambridge Local First for endorsing and promoting the 100 by 100 Initiative, and to the Harvard Square Business Association for being an organizational sponsor. Their ongoing support has been so important in getting word out about the 100 by 100 Initiative
The $10K raised in scholarships will be presented at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School at the 2015/2016 CRLS Scholarship Night. This scholarship initiative was launched by Friends of Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (FoCRLS), a nonprofit organization benefitting students and faculty of the city’s only public high school. “We are thrilled – but not surprised – at the enthusiastic response of Cambridge business leaders; the “100 by 100” campaign hit its first year goal of $10,000 over a month before year’s end,” said Elaine Schear, FoCRLS’s Executive Director. “Cambridge is fortunate to have such an engaged business community.”
IMPORTANT NOTE — It’s not too late to become a Founding Donor! “100 by 100” donations received by December 31 are eligible, so interested businesses should email us at info@focrls.org, call us at 857-235-9290 or visit our website at www.focrls.org.
FOCRLS Board Comings and Goings! Sabino / Vernon / Baxter / Toner (11/29/2015)
Much news from the FOCRLS Board. First, Friends of CRLS sends a big thank you to outgoing Board President Jamie Sabino for her commitment and service to CRLS, first as FOCRLS Treasurer, and then as President, including leading our organization through its strategic planning process. We are pleased that Jamie will continue to serve on the FOCRLS Board.
Secondly, we welcome our new Board of Directors President Elizabeth Vernon and Secretary Dawn Baxter, and thank them both for their dedication and hard work — past, present, and future, as well as Neil Rosenburg, FOCRLS Treasurer for the talents he has brought and continues to bear for the organization.
And finally, we are honored to welcome new Board member Paul Toner, who has an illustrious career in education and is sure to be a source of wisdom and inspiration.
Student Travel Fellowship application now available (10/19/2015)
We are pleased to announce that we are now accepting applications for Travel Fellowships from financially and academically qualified students for domestic and international school trips for the 2015-2016 academic year. To get an application, please click here.
Brand new slideshow about FoCRLS (10/5/2015)
Friends of CRLS’s new slideshow, which features photos of many of our awardees, is a great overview of our programs, impact, outreach, and fundraising. We hope you will take a few moments to scroll through the .pdf of the Friends of CRLS slideshow here.
Class of 2015 Scholarships (9/14/2015)
FoCRLS presented $24,700 in college scholarships and graduate awards in June to 24 members of the CRLS Class of 2015. This surpassed our previous record of $15,600 to the Class of 2014 by $9,100 (almost 60%). The scholarship fund, which started in 2010 with two scholarships, is increasing even further for the Class of 2016. Please click here to view our press release.
Friends of CRLS 2015-16 School Year Kick-Off Community Meeting on September 28, 2015!
Please join us for our 2015-16 kick-off Community Meeting on Monday, September 28, 2015 from 7-8:30 pm in the Pearl K. Wise Library (2nd floor, Main Building) of CRLS to ring in the new school year, meet and mingle, talk about how to make the most of the CRLS experience for you and your child(ren), learn about FoCRLS, and enjoy refreshments. Please click here for more information.
FOCRLS Winter’s End Newsletter now available (3/18/2015)
The Friends of CRLS (FoCRLS) Winter’s End 2015 Newsletter is now available, and it is full of updates on FoCRLS programs — including Scholarships, Student Travel Fellowships, Faculty Innovation Grants, and the “It Takes a Village” College Success Program (ITAV) — as well as the FoCRLS MayFair Raffle, upcoming House Party, new “100 by 100” campaign, and more. To learn about how FoCRLS makes opportunities happen at CRLS, to become involved, or to donate, please read the FoCRLS newsletter by clicking here.
InvestCRLS Campaign Announced! (3/18/2015)
From the Executive Director, Elaine Schear:
InvestCRLS: A New Community-Opportunity Campaign
It’s my great pleasure to announce “InvestCRLS”, a FoCRLS campaign to close in on the opportunity and achievement gaps at CRLS and unleash the diverse and extraordinary talents of our 1800+ students.
Community Investment = Opportunity, Growth, Success
The goals of “InvestCRLS” are to expand student resources and to sustain our programs for as long as they’re needed. While continuing our annual fundraising projects and events, we have added:
— a new major donor campaign that aims to increase individual donations of $1,000 and above (currently our individual donations range from $5 to $6,000);
— a new “100 by 100” initiative, increasing our partnerships in the business community by seeking the support of 100 Cambridge businesses to each contribute $100 or more annually to a new scholarship fund, for a total of $10,000 each year.
InvestCRLS has begun, and the response is thumbs up! Parents, alumni, businesses, and Cambridge residents who wish to play a role in our public school students’ success, are stepping up to take part in the action.
Together, we are making it possible for every Rindge student to become a productive, innovative, confident, self-sustaining, and caring young adult.
FOCRLS Faculty Innovation Grants Awarded for 2015 (2/12/2015)
Please join Friends of CRLS in congratulating our latest Faculty Innovation Grants awardees! (See list below.) These grants provide funds to enrich curriculum and provide services for (and by) CRLS students.
To date, 150 teachers, counselors, librarians, club advisors, and administrators have received grants of up to $1,000 each for enhancements in every department of CRLS and RTSA.
The experiences, materials, and improvements provided have made a difference in the education of an estimated 7,500 students!
We thank our many donors — family, friends, alumni, and business leaders — for supporting the power of the ideas of our exemplary CRLS educators.
2015 FOCRLS Faculty Grantees:
Nicole Hart, Instructional Technology Specialist, and Ginny Berkowitz, Media Arts Manager – “The CRLS Legacy Project: An Interactive Portrait of Cambridge’s 366 Year-old Public High School”
to “create an interactive online experience that will capture the past, present, and future of Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.”
Conrad Hauck, Engineering Instructor, RSTA – “Funding for 2015 FIRST Robotics Team 97”
to help students “surpass the achievements of last year and anticipate increasing popularity in our robotics team due to our success.”
Kimberly Parker, English Teacher – “The Achievement Gap Literacy Initiative”
to “increase the literacy outcomes of CP 10 English students through the creation of a robust classroom library.”
Jennifer Sarmiento, English Teacher/Advisor, Literary Arts Magazine – “CRLS Literary Arts Magazine”
to create a magazine in which CRLS writers and artists can showcase their work and to make copies of this magazine affordable to students.
Elisabeth Macias, World History Teacher – “Funding for CRLS Model Congress”
in which “students will learn how to think globally, respond to moral or ethical dilemmas, and present their arguments in a clear, informed manner.”
Kate Greene, Special Education Teacher, High School Extension Program – “HSEP Community Building”
to increase attendance among students who have struggled for success by “encouraging them to take a leadership role in building a positive school community.”
Douglas Carey, Carpentry Teacher – “Rolling Planters for Physically Disabled Nursing Home Residents”
in which carpentry students will develop the skills to plan, budget, and complete the project and then donate the planters to nursing home residents, enabling them to grow flowers and vegetables.
Marlin Kann, History Teacher – “Beacon Hill’s African American History Experience”
in which 39 tenth graders in AP US History, who have demonstrated commitment to this demanding class, will have a fun, educational event “engaging and expanding their own historical understandings” and being introduced to archeology.
Jack Haverty, Senior Class Advisor – “Prom Funding Needs”
to make prom tickets available to 25 low-income seniors at half-price to bring inclusiveness to this community-building celebration of years spent together.
Jesse Kaplan, Office of Student Support – “Food for Thought: Providing Healthful Snacks to Improve Student Achievement”
to nourish students in self-contained academic classes who do not have access to other nutritional resources.
Congratulations to our awardees and thank you for energizing the CRLS experience for students!
Thank you to our many generous donors who made these grants possible!