Dear ISM Parent,
The new school year has begun with a great start!
By now, you should have been introduced to your "Classroom Champion" who will keep track of the percentage of giving in your classroom. Inside of every classroom door, there is a thermometer that will keep you updated on the progress of your class.
Below, you will find a list of "Classroom Champions" with their contact information. Please do not hesitate to contact any of these folks with questions or comments.
Our goal is to reach 100% participation - 50% by October - and so far this year, we are at 43%! We appreciate all your efforts helping us reach that goal.
Why 100% Participation?Did you know that: foundations to which we apply for grants, look at the number of families who contribute financially? If they see that 100% or our families are supportive, they too will support ISM programming.
Did you know that: we have a donor family that has given nearly $250,000 to ISM over the years. They have indicated that they may end their support if
participation by the parent community doesn't go up to 100%. They need to know that other families are as committed as they are to the school.
Did you know that: families need give only what they can afford. If families are able, we encourage them to reach the goal of contributing $1500 per student to the school. If you are not able to contribute $1500, we ask that you give whatever you can to your child's education. The bottom line, is that we hope everyone will give something. And there is no gift too small, but there is also no gift too large.
Let's see the thermometer rise to 100%!
Sincerely,
The ISM Foundation Team
THANK YOU! to Philanthropists: Donors who contribute above the $1500/student Family Share, and help a less fortunate family: Cleary/Hoffman, Gaucher, Madden, Mann, Moore/Worcester, Novak, White/Bennett, Will, Wolfson
Investing in Your Child's Education
The International School of Monterey is a 501(3)(c) non-profit organization. As such 100% of your financial contributions may be tax deductible. 501(3)(c) Tax ID# 74-3062542.
Please make checks payable to ISM Foundation, and mail to P.O. Box 711, Monterey, CA 93940. You may also leave contributions in the black box in the office at the school.
If you would prefer, we are now able to accept contributions online using Paypal at http://www.ismonterey.org/ism_foundation.html. Make a one time payment, or if it's more convenient, you can now make a monthly contribution on your credit card.
Money orders and cash contributions are always welcome as well!
If you have any questions about the ISM Foundation or would like find out more about participating in the Foundation, please email John Tilley at foundation@ismonterey.org.
August Donor ProfileEvery month we will feature comments from a family who has made contributing to the ISM Foundation a priority.
Gabriella & Fausto Perez: "Setting Priorities"Gabriella Perez is a first-grade teacher in a Salinas public elementary school. Fausto Perez is a cook at Roy's of Pebble Beach. With son Giovanni in fifth grade and daughter Isabella (Giuli) in second grade, Fausto and Gabriella make an annual financial contribution to ISM of $3,000 per year ($1,500 per child) to pay for the services and staffing not covered by the Average Daily Attendance funding.
Like many ISM Families, my husband Fausto and I need to budget carefully to meet expenses. We are both first-generation immigrants. Fausto comes from El Salvador; I am from Germany.
Because we are each far from our aging parents, we make periodic international flights to visit them or to bring them here to visit us. This is expensive, of course. Also, Fausto and his siblings support his parents financially.
To make all this work, we set a strict family budget and cut corners everywhere we can, except in the priority areas. Our priorities are our daily living expenses, visiting family and supporting our parents, and contributing to ISM.
We don't eat out. We don't go to Starbucks. We don't shop at Macy's. We have the most basic cable service available (and we signed up for that only recently because we couldn't resist that World cup coverage!). We don't go to the first run movie theaters, but our annual membership contribution to KAZU gets us 12 free movies per year at the Osio Theater. We accept hand-me-down clothing enthusiastically, and we shop for toys at second hand shops and yard sales. We get household goods for free on Freecycle. If you aren't familiar with this wonderful resource, I urge you to check it out:
www.freecycle.org!
I'll be blunt: you save a lot of money by not buying a Wii Game or a big screen TV.
We aren't suffering. It is just a matter of priorities for us. We value visiting our aging parents abroad and helping them out and making a monthly contribution to our children's education much more than we value having new furniture or a fancy TV.
To fund our $3,000 annual contribution to ISM, we put $300 on our credit card each month for ten months out of the year, and then we give ourselves a two-month break. Of course, we use a credit card that gets airline miles! $3,000 is a significant budget item, given that our finances are very tight. But, we consider it to be absolutely worthwhile.
At $1,500 per year per child, ISM is still much cheaper than any private school available to any of us. In fact, it is cheaper than pre-school. Full-time preschool cost us $600 per month for one child. Fausto and I could not have afforded to have both children in pre-school at the same time.
ISM offers much more to all our children than does the typical public school. I should know! The public school where I teach receives lots of categorical funding in addition to the Average Daily Attendance funding, but the kids just get the basic reading, writing, and arithmetic: they get no drama, no art, no foreign language instruction, no physical education, no real science or social studies instruction, no classroom aides, and no field trips at all. We all want more for our kids than just the basics. But, the extras do come with a price tag, and I strongly believe that we who benefit from all our extras at ISM are the ones who need to step up and fund these things.
I got involved at ISM before it was even formed. I had taken my cat to the vet, carrying Giovanni in an infant carrier. The vet took a look at Giovanni and took a look at me and said "With your international child, you might be interested in this new International School that is being formed." I went to an ISM planning meeting and signed the charter. I signed that charter for my son and any future children I might have, because I knew I wanted my bi-racial kids to benefit from an ethnically diverse environment. I have not regretted my decision. Fausto and I consider ISM to be an excellent investment.
I'm revealing some intimate details about our family because I'm sure we are just like a lot of other ISM families. Many of us have to get creative to have the life and education we want for our children. If some of you have money-saving strategies, I hope you will pass them on to me, as I have shared mine here.
If you are already being creative and you still can't afford to fund that $1,500 gap between what ADA funds cover and the true cost of an ISM education, then I understand. Not all of us can stretch a budget that far. But, I know that each of us can contribute something.
I want to thank all of you who contribute financially to ISM, at whatever level you can afford. You are helping my children, as I am helping yours.
I am 100% behind the concept of 100% participation. It is all a matter of setting priorities.
2008/2009 4th Grade Classroom ChampionsMs. Welsh: Lisa Moberg,
lisa@landolinks.com 393-1789
Ms. Arnow: John Tilley,
the5amswim@yahoo.com 521-6546
Labels: foundation, newsletter
