By partnering with educators, leaders and innovators, we've helped craft initiatives, provided funding and prove the impact. After successfully launching a program, the staff and teams at PSUSD implement and manage it on campus. The impact we've made together on student lives has been powerful.
Over the past decade, The Foundation has successfully led the launch of numerous programs. We've developed ideas with treh support of the Board of Education, the community, monitoring educational needs and trends and direct input from educators, student services and our partners across the district. We vet ideas, determine feasibility and ensure they can be fully managed by the District if proven. Below are just a few of the many programs we have launched and continue to support with advocacy and funding.
Native Studies Curriculum
AN AWARD-WINNING INITIATIVE
The Palm Springs Unified School District and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians collaborated on the creation and launch of highly successful elementary, middle, and high-school Native American Studies study-units. The curriculum project -- conceived and proposed by The Foundation and funded by the Tribe -- was recognized nationally with the “Honoring Nations” award given by the American Indian Economic Development Project at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Designed to convey the history, culture, and traditions of the Valley’s native inhabitants in their own words, without appropriation, ethnic bias, or prejudice, the project represents a unique partnership among a public school district, a nonprofit foundation, and a local tribe that can serve as a model for other regions of the country with significant indigenous populations.
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Native American studies coming to Palm Springs Unified in collaboration with Agua Caliente tribe
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eSports Athletic Program
When we think of the typical athlete, we think a player on a field or court, runner and jumper on a track or swimmer in a pool. The newest emerging athlete is not one you will find in any of these places. No this athlete — though no less serious or committed to his or her sport — can be found behind a computer engaging with teammates in a nonphysical way. This is the world of esports, and Palm Springs Unified secondary students are embracing the opportunity to hone their skills and compete for prizes, cash and even full-ride college scholarships.
Our hope is to connect with a community of students that sometimes feel ignored and shed light on their skills and achievements through esports.
This initiative conceived and then prototyped within the school district has proven successful in building skills, student community and a sense of belonging. Currently managed by PSUSD staff, the number of esport athletes and has grown by 20% annually and the teams have successfully competed in tournaments.
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Rattler's Automotive Career Academy (RACE)
Rattler Automotive Careers Education is the Rancho Mirage High School Career and Technical Education (CTE) academy that prepares students for careers in automotive and transportation fields. The Rattlers are the mascot for the high school.
Both theory and lab experiences are applied to fundamental skills like tires, batteries, accessories, electrical, cooling systems, and fuel systems. And this program offers internship opportunities with local auto dealers and service departments.
The Foundation has underwritten field trips for RACE students. In recent history, students traveled to Detroit to explore automotive history and learn of career opportunities around the design and manufacture of vehicles. For many students, it was their first time traveling out of state, and for others it was the first time on an airplane. Funded by a family foundation grant through The Foundation, this, and many other life-changing field trips have ignited students' interest in the automotive field as a career.
Since launch, RACE Academy has grown from 8 students to over 100.
Jerry Argovitz Sports Institute (JASI)
A philanthropic initiative originated by famed NFL agent and seasonal Rancho Mirage resident Jerry Argovitz and his wife, the Jerry Argovitz Sports Institute (JASI) represents a comprehensive leadership and mentoring program that puts Argovitz's priceless wisdom and insights to work for PSUSD athletes through a wide-ranging, custom-developed curriculum intended to build character, teach integrity and good judgment, instill high ethics, communicate moral values, establish personal standards, and help scholar-athletes navigate the hurdles that the teenage years inevitably present.
Jerry Argovitz built a celebrated career on working closely with professional athletes and helping them to build both work and personal lives around the demanding imperatives of professional sports. Helping Dr. Argovitz in this work is a series of world-class guest speakers drawn from his decades of work at the highest levels of professional sports and sports management, providing a previously unheard-of level of real-life example, role-modeling, and motivation for our students.
Piloted at Rancho Mirage High School, JASI will expand to Desert Hot Springs High School.
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