IHAD Prepares for Incoming Class—of 1st Graders
Steve Lin, MBA2
Issue date: 10/1/01 Section: Summer Experiences
Ten years ago, Peter Dumanian, MBA ’92, and a few of his GSB classmates envisioned the East Palo Alto Chapter of the “I Have a Dream” (IHAD) program, modeled after a famous program founded a decade earlier in East Harlem. Within a year and a half, a core group of 20 GSB students raised $450,000 from classmates, alumni, and corporate donors, and adopted a class of 58 3rd and 4th grade “Dreamers” from Flood elementary school. The program was a phenomenal success, as class after class of GSB students tutored and mentored the Dreamers through high school.
Though long since graduated, Dumanian, who now sits on the IHAD board with other former founders, is at it again. Over the summer, as the final half of the original Dreamers prepare for college, IHAD prepared for a second generation of Dreamers. This time, GSB students will adopt a class of 60 1st graders at Costano elementary school in East Palo Alto. Along with the new class of Dreamers, IHAD also selected a new program coordinator in July who will oversee the incoming class.
Stacey Beese, who holds a Master’s of Arts in Education from Stanford, brings considerable depth and experience to the position. Prior to her graduation last year, Beese managed an after-school program in Washington D.C., taught Spanish in the Teach for America Corps, and was a Project Director at Stanford’s Center for Research on the Context of Learning, among various other positions.
Since assuming the role of IHAD coordinator in early August, Beese has been busy making sure that the experience of the second generation of Dreamers will be as fun and meaningful as it was for the first generation. To Beese, this means getting every detail perfect, from talking with Costano teachers to decorating the portable classroom the school has given to the program. “I am really looking forward to this,” says Beese, “and I think that everyone else is too.”
Fundraising has also been in full-force for the new program. More than $770,000 in gifts and pledges has already been raised towards the goal of $1.3 million to cover the costs of scholarships, materials, and administration. This summer alone, IHAD received generous donations from charitable organizations such as the Gill Foundation, the Schwab Family Foundation, and the Skoll Foundation. Other sources of funding include prominent members of the community who prefer not to be named. Although IHAD will continue fundraising until it reaches its goal, it is well prepared to launch the program this fall.
As the new IHAD leadership team at the GSB wound down summer internships, they are turned their attention towards preparing activities for Dreamers, mentor recruiting, and planning for the SMIF/IHAD Carnival on October 19. More than anything, these students, and the rest of the IHAD organization and community, would love to see history repeat itself for the new class of Dreamers.
Though long since graduated, Dumanian, who now sits on the IHAD board with other former founders, is at it again. Over the summer, as the final half of the original Dreamers prepare for college, IHAD prepared for a second generation of Dreamers. This time, GSB students will adopt a class of 60 1st graders at Costano elementary school in East Palo Alto. Along with the new class of Dreamers, IHAD also selected a new program coordinator in July who will oversee the incoming class.
Stacey Beese, who holds a Master’s of Arts in Education from Stanford, brings considerable depth and experience to the position. Prior to her graduation last year, Beese managed an after-school program in Washington D.C., taught Spanish in the Teach for America Corps, and was a Project Director at Stanford’s Center for Research on the Context of Learning, among various other positions.
Since assuming the role of IHAD coordinator in early August, Beese has been busy making sure that the experience of the second generation of Dreamers will be as fun and meaningful as it was for the first generation. To Beese, this means getting every detail perfect, from talking with Costano teachers to decorating the portable classroom the school has given to the program. “I am really looking forward to this,” says Beese, “and I think that everyone else is too.”
Fundraising has also been in full-force for the new program. More than $770,000 in gifts and pledges has already been raised towards the goal of $1.3 million to cover the costs of scholarships, materials, and administration. This summer alone, IHAD received generous donations from charitable organizations such as the Gill Foundation, the Schwab Family Foundation, and the Skoll Foundation. Other sources of funding include prominent members of the community who prefer not to be named. Although IHAD will continue fundraising until it reaches its goal, it is well prepared to launch the program this fall.
As the new IHAD leadership team at the GSB wound down summer internships, they are turned their attention towards preparing activities for Dreamers, mentor recruiting, and planning for the SMIF/IHAD Carnival on October 19. More than anything, these students, and the rest of the IHAD organization and community, would love to see history repeat itself for the new class of Dreamers.