The Shirley Kaufman Memorial Fund was established in 1990 by her husband, Sumner Kaufman, and his family as a testimony to Shirley’s outstanding contribution to the education of students and to the inspiration of teachers in the Rowland Unified School District. Shirley taught in Rowland for 22 years, with her service at Ybarra Elementary School from 1974-1979 commemorated on a mural at the school.
The Kaufman family, Rowland Council PTA and the District award teacher grant recipients that demonstrate strong programs initiated at the school sites that are innovative and effective in meeting students' needs and increase their involvement and motivation to learn. Congratulations to the following RUSD teachers recipients who were recognized on June 9, 2015 by the Board of Education:
- Susan Bratt, Jellick Elementary (Pictured) (Garden supplies to introduce students to composting.)
- Maria Descallar, Blandford Elementary (Two Chromebooks – to provide students equal access to educational technology. Third graders will learn to blog and use wikispaces to communicate with teacher and fellow classmates.)
- Cindy Jones, Rowland Elementary (Vegetable garden supplies to expose student to home grown vegetables and taste foods that may be new to them.)
- Sheryl Mauk, Hollingworth Elementary (A variety of literature books to increase students understanding and enjoyment of math using literature. The books will have students reading stories while solving math and understanding math concepts.)
- Clare Ruesga, Rowland High School (Library Space Makers – The goal is create a makerspace in the library where staff and students can come together and share resources and knowledge while working on projects/classwork.)
- Laura Hier, Rowland High School (Double sided White Boards – to engage students in the visualizations steps of their process in the classroom and share with their classmates and teachers to see steps in real time.)
- Mark Anderson, Hurley and Northam Elementary (Music stands to help support the needs of the growing instrumental music program.)