By Vivian Malauulu
Special to the Signal Tribune
In approximately five minutes, $130,000 was raised at the biggest business and education partnership program at Long Beach’s 8th Annual Principal for a Day (PFAD) event, which took place last Thursday. The money will be used specifically to provide math tutoring to high school students struggling to become proficient in algebra.
Actual principals, board members, and the superintendent were shadowed by more than 200 guests representing local businesses and community organizations in what became an unprecedented level of business involvement to benefit the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD).
Every school in LBUSD participated by hosting community leaders on campus. Acting principals gained a temporary bird’s-eye view of what it takes to run a school by interacting with students, teachers, parents, and administrators in one fast-paced, activity-packed morning.
Guests visited classrooms, attended meetings, coordinated testing, provided playground supervision, and even ate cafeteria food through a hands-on agenda that is all in a day’s work for principals everywhere.
Working side by side with actual principals, acting principals were encouraged to inquire about budget concerns, gym equipment, student discipline, teaching methods, and other issues relevant to the daily operations of a school.
“These students are our students,” said CSULB President Dr. F. King Alexander, who shadowed Long Beach Board of Education President Dr. Felton C. Williams. “We’re all in this together. The success of our university is highly contingent upon the success of the elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools.”
Dr. Williams credits the program with opening up long-term dialogue between schools and businesses which in turn has had a “tremendous impact on our kids and in our community.”
“This has been an amazing experience,” said LBPD Sergeant Scott Minikus about being in law enforcement and using that to relate to kids in the classroom. As acting principal of Bixby Elementary School, he offered this advice to students and parents to prevent them from ever having to run into him in the future, saying that education is key, to stay in school, listen to your teachers and respect your elders.
Five years ago, the Superintendent for a Day component was introduced to the program as a way of allowing guests the opportunity to job shadow Superintendent of Schools Christopher J. Steinhauser. This year’s Superintendents for a Day were philanthropists Dr. Mike and Arline Walter, established business and community leaders in Long Beach.
In 2004, CSULB honored the Walters by naming the University’s icon building the Mike and Arline Walter Pyramid as a tribute to their many years of service to the university, the greater Long Beach community, and the couple’s $2.1 million donation to the university.
“We believe that Long Beach students can achieve much in their lives with the right attention and intervention,” said Dr. Walter, former chair of CSULB’s College of Business Administration and current Long Beach Harbor Commissioner. “We’re happy that we can play a small role in this preparation. Education is not an expense. Education is an investment, and it’s one of the best investments that a society can make.”
Approximately 1,800 students at Polytechnic, Wilson, Millikan and Lakewood high schools will directly benefit from the money through a very unique partnership. It is estimated that 240 eleventh and twelfth-grade students who are already proficient in algebra I will be hired to peer-tutor students in need of satisfying the CSU math requirements.
“This [program] has a lot of benefits because business people will get a little insight about what it takes to run a school by walking in someone else’s shoes,” said Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster. “You never really can predict what might happen when you bring people together to discuss and share ideas about education.”
Foster began the donation bids by committing $1,500 to the higher-level math tutoring program. Verizon pledged $15,000 and both Sound Energy Solutions and Wal-Mart contributed $10,000 each.
“We live in a community that truly values education,” said Superintendent Steinhauser. “This is the kind of commitment we have in this community. Everyone works together to solve a problem. We are blessed to have such strong support.”
PFAD is cosponsored by the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, the Long Beach Unified School District and the Long Beach Education Foundation with the goal of uniting community members from the Greater Long Beach Area with educators from the Long Beach Unified School District, Long Beach City College, and California State University, Long Beach.
Assembly member Betty Karnette, who taught public school math and science for 31 years, has been involved in PFAD for many years. She summed it up by explaining that having guests visit schools helps students learn because “they [students] become a part of the business community and that makes the program real.”
