Communities in San Joaquin County raised nearly $122,000 to take students on an educational adventure. Funds raised will pay for hundreds of students to participate in outdoor-education programs, like the San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE) Outdoor Education program, a four-night excursion to the coastal redwoods known to generations of county students as “Science Camp.”
All San Joaquin County schools were invited to participate in the raffle coordinated by the SJCOE Educational Foundation (SJCOEEF). All proceeds go directly to the school that sold the tickets for their Outdoor Education trip because of generous donations: Valley Oak Dental in Manteca sponsored the printing of 30,000 raffle tickets and the SJCOEEF donated $5,000 in prize money.
San Joaquin County Superintendent of Schools James Mousalimas drew the three winning tickets:
- First Place ($3,500): Sabrina Orlando (Ticket sold by Ripon Elementary, Ripon Unified School District.)
- Second Place ($1,000): Jorge Alberto Galeama. (Ticket sold by Rio Calaveras Elementary School, Stockton Unified School District.)
- Third Place ($500): Heather New. (Ticket sold by John McCandless STEM Charter School, Lincoln Unified School District.)
This year, 35 schools participated in the Outdoor Education raffle, selling 24,321 tickets. The SJCOEEF has stepped up efforts to raise more money during the raffle in recent years. The total has risen from $40,000 in 2014 to $82,000 in 2015. The raffle raised $122,000 in 2016, $121,000 in 2017, and a record-breaking $132,600 last year. This year's total is $121,605.
Since 1957, more than 500,000 elementary students have participated in the SJCOE Outdoor Education program, informally known as Science Camp. More than 4,000 fifth- and sixth-graders, and nearly 600 high school cabin leaders attend Outdoor Education each year, spending five days and four nights exploring and learning in nature. For more information, visit http://www.sjcoe.org/outdoored/.
Participating Schools:
Altamont Elementary, Aspire Langston Hughes Academy, August Elementary, August Knodt Elementary, Bethany Elementary, , Colony Oak Elementary, Earle E. Williams Middle, El Dorado Elementary, Elmwood Elementary, French Camp Elementary, Golden West Elementary, Great Valley Elementary, John Marshall Elementary, John McCandless STEM Charter, Joseph Widmer Jr. Elementary, Lammersville Elementary, Monte Vista Middle, Mossdale Elementary, Park View Elementary, Primary Years Academy, Pulliam Elementary, Rio Calaveras Elementary, Ripon Elementary, River Islands Technology Academy, Roosevelt Elementary, San Joaquin Elementary, Sebastian Questa Elementary, Sequoia Elementary, Shasta Elementary, Stockton Public Safety Academy, Taylor Leadership Academy, Tom Hawkins Elementary, Venture Academy Family of Schools, Veritas Elementary, Walter Woodward Elementary, and Weston Elementary.