State Treasurer to visit Castro Valley’s Golden Oak Montessori school to award $5,000 grant

Education
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California State Treasurer and gubernatorial candidate John Chiang comes to Castro Valley on Monday to award a $5,000 2017 Scholar Dollars Grant to Golden Oak Montessori.

Scholar Dollars is funded through TIAA, which administers the State of California’s college savings plan ScholarShare, and seeks “to generate engagement and meaningful conversation about the importance of attending and saving for higher education,” according to its website

Golden Oak, a charter school located on Vergil Court in the portion of Castro Valley served by Hayward Unified School District, was one of the 400 schools statewide to compete for a Scholar Dollars grant. Its award will go towards its “Before School Math” program, a free 5-week (10 session) math support program designed to build fluency in student skills and abilities. 

Chiang will attend a special student assembly to present Golden Oak’s principal Gena Engelfried the grant. Golden Oaks was one of just a few of the winners to be selected for this special visit, and the school is very excited about the opportunity to host Chiang, according to Englefried, who attributes the victory to “the many online votes of Golden Oak families and friends.”  

With a student population of just 239, competing against much larger schools from all across the state, receiving enough votes to win the award was quite a feat and clearly shows the passion and commitment of the Golden Oak’s community.

To see Golden Oaks grant proposal, the full list of winners, and competition details go to http://www.myscholardollars.com. Treasurer Chiang will present the school a $5,000 grant at a special school assembly at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, May 8.

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