Amy Soule and Katarina Mendibles
Dennis Blauser, School Superintendent
Once again, the Oracle Schools Foundation and its forward-thinking members have stepped up big. Three years ago, Foundation member Alan Levenson came up with the idea of having the teachers choose an academically-strong and motivated middle school student to participate in a program that would help set them on a life-changing path to accomplish great things. The program was named the Levenson Reach Scholarship. The first challenge was to find a program that was unique enough to truly be life-altering for participating students. The Foundation discovered the Sally Ride academic camps which have innovative and challenging curriculums that fit the scholarship criteria.
The first two years, scholarship recipients attended UC Berkley and UCLA for a week of study in the area of science and mathematics. This year, the scholarship expanded to two students, thanks to the generosity of Chris and Larry Crum. The scholarship was consequently renamed the Levenson-Crum REACH Scholarship. This year’s scholarship recipients were 8th grade students Amy Soule and Katarina Mendibles. Amy and Katarina spent the last week of July at Stanford University studying Neuroanatomy and Robotics. Programs such as this are why the Oracle Schools Foundation truly is accomplishing its vision to be a beacon for public education.