News

Juma— the word for “work” in many African dialects—is a nonprofit social enterprise whose purpose is to employ young people who might otherwise have a hard time landing their first job. Juma’s motto is “It starts with a job.” Juma Youth have dealt with personal challenges. Many of them have experienced homelessness or housing instability, […]

The California Academy of Sciences is one of just three organizations this year to be awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) for its Careers in Science program.

BADM has unveiled five new exhibitions and playspaces geared toward children under the age of 10. The spaces, which opened following the museum’s $20M BOLD capital campaign, are based on the cutting-edge research in childhood development to inspire creativity and exploration. Exhibits include the a new climbing structure Gumnut Grove, and new exploration spaces called How Things Work which, Try It Studio, and a new Tot Spot.

As a leader in K-12 education, the National Math & Science Initiative (NMSI) has created a series of webinars and a new workbook for using COVID relief funds to help teachers, school administrators, superintendents, and school boards navigate road to recovery that lies ahead.

Educating for American Democracy is a bipartisan, multi-sector effort to reinvigorate the teaching and learning of American history and civics in schools. The Commonwealth Club will livestream a conversation with leaders of this effort about why the country needs a renewed commitment to history and civics education. This program is part of Creating Citizens, Commonwealth Club’s new civics education project, founded with Koret support.

The California Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC) is currently under review. The new ESMC will be used as the model curriculum for high schools across California and could ultimately be adopted across the nation. The Jewish Community Relations Council has worked tirelessly and in partnership with other Jewish community organizations to help build a balanced and inclusive ESMC. The third version of the curriculum will be reviewed for approval by the California State Board of Education this March.

Mid-way through a three-year project with the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) funded by Koret, leaders at the Hayward Unified School District identified a gap in the number of students reaching AP math by senior year. Working with their NMSI team, they developed a new a summer program, Geometry for Acceleration, that has put nearly 100 high schoolers on a path to advanced math and college readiness.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the San Francisco YMCA has opened four free pop-up camps that serve 100 children of essential workers with jobs in hospitals, grocery stores, and the police.

The COVID-19 virus has upended life for individuals and communities everywhere. The pandemic has spread not only infection, but also wide-reaching uncertainty as to when “normal life” might resume. In the San Francisco Bay Area, Koret grantees innovated quickly in response to the mandate to shelter in place and to socially distance. Unlike in previous […]

While the museum’s doors are closed to the public, the Exploratorium is supporting the front lines of the Covid-19 pandemic. The museum collected n95 masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) from its science labs to donate to the staff at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. Their engineers have also devised a 3D printing process that can produce hospital face shields in minutes, and plan to make 200 pieces a day and publish the designs for others to use.