Serving over 205,000 students across Fresno County, The Foundation @ FCOE raised over $3.9 million in 2022-2023 to support programs and services that ensure students obtain a well-rounded education with Excellence, Access, and Innovation at the forefront.
- Excellence: To support academic and co-curricular student events coordinated by the Office of the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools, such as Academic Decathlon, College Night, Science Fair, Spelling Bee, Young Authors’ Faire, and Career Tech Expo.
- Access: To help fund countywide programs that promote opportunities for student success, such as early care and education, empowerment and equity supports, graduation rate improvement, college and career-tech readiness, libraries, technology and more.
- Innovation: To provide grants to school programs across the county that demonstrate innovation and improve student educational success.
Countywide Impact
Promoting Access: FCSS Kids Day
The annual FCSS Kids Day event welcomed 1,500 students with special needs to embark on a day full of fun and learning. Many organizations came together for this one-of-a-kind event including Fresno Police Department, Fresno County Sheriff's Department, Fresno Fire Department, and many more, to engage students and their families in an experience they might not otherwise have been able to enjoy.
Health Youth Corps Showcase
The Health Youth Corps Showcase was held at Fresno City College with tremendous success. The Showcase is the culminating event for students who participate all year-long in the Health Youth Corps program as student ambassadors promoting positive health choices among their high school peers.
Life Skills at Washington Union High School
In 2023, Washington Unified School District was a recipient of the Kaiser Permanente Economic Opportunity Grant. The goal of the Economic Opportunity Grant was to support programs that help students excel in school and become equipped to pursue careers and quality jobs. With the grant funding, the district was able to transform the Life Skills classroom at Washington Union High School to better impact students with disabilities gaining essential job skills for life after high school.
First Annual Health Youth Corps Conference
The FCSS-Health Services Department held the first-ever Health Youth Corps Conference at Washington Union High School. Over 250 Fresno County students learned about the role they will have in the future to positively impact the health outcomes in the Central Valley.
PG & E Grant Helps Expand Kerman Online School
Support from a generous PG & E grant made a significant impact to the Kerman Online School at Kerman Unified. The Kerman Online School has developed into the flagship of dual enrollment opportunities for secondary students in Kerman Unified.
Fresno County Math Collaborative
In 2021, with a generous investment from Chevron, the FCSS-STEM team partnered with the Differentiated Assistance team to launch the Math Networked Improvement Community, now called the Fresno County Math Collaborative (FCMC). The focus of FCMC is to build capacity at school sites for both strong math instruction and sustained improvement.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Contest Series
The Fresno County Superintendent of Schools, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Contest Series featured the outstanding talents of Fresno County students in the categories of art, speech, and essay.
Grant Awarded to Alice M. Worsley School
Cultural Arts Rotary Foundation awards Worsley School with a grant for recreational reading books that will help motivate students to read outside of the classroom, strengthening their reading skills. Worsley school serves students who are in custody of the juvenile court system.
2023 Innovation Grants
Congratulations to the 2023 Innovation Grant Awards recipients! Each year, the Foundation is proud to offer each school district a grant of up to $1,000 to fund an innovative project that will excite and engage students in and out of the classroom.
Career Tech Expo
Every year, the Career Tech Expo draws nearly 2,500 high school students from Fresno and the surrounding counties to learn about careers and educational opportunities available through many trade and training facilities. Students and parents have an opportunity to speak to industry professionals about their experiences and get their outlook on future employment opportunities to assist them in planning future goals and careers.
2023 Deb and Dr. Allen Clyde Scholarship
Congratulations to Gemma Fortunado, the 2023 recipient of the Deb and Dr. Allen Clyde Charitable Fund Scholarship. Gemma is pursuing her bachelor's degree in Agriculture Education with the goal of becoming a high school agriculture mechanics teacher.
Fresno County Summer Arts Academy
FCSS student programs wrapped up in July with the Fresno County Summer Arts Academy showcase. Students had a wonderful time discovering and expanding their artistic talents and skills through courses taught by Fresno City College faculty in choir, concert band, Jazz band, journalism, modern dance, photography, rock band, speech and debate, theatre acting and costume crafts.
Delbert "Del" Cederquist Scholarship Awards
On behalf of the Cederquist family, The Foundation @ FCOE was honored to present the Delbert “Del” Cederquist Scholarships to two CTEC High School students, Savannah Romero and Ruby Miranda. Savannah plans to attend UC Davis to pursue a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biomedical engineering and Ruby will be attending Fresno Pacific University to pursue a degree in psychology.
Jim A. Yovino | Students of Promise Scholarship
Congratulations Nia Palmer for being selected as the first-ever recipient of the Jim A. Yovino | Students of Promise Scholarship. Nia has demonstrated outstanding academic achievement and leadership abilities, and exceptional dedication to her personal growth.
FCSS Kids Day
FCSS Kids Day is a huge community event that brings together hundreds of supporters to help host a wonderful day to recognize and celebrate students with moderate to severe disabilities, ages birth to 22.
Career Skills Challenge
The Career Skills Challenge was held this month with exciting student competitions. This is a hands-on, career-focused event involving 40 competitions in diverse vocations such as medical terminology, welding, crime scene investigation and sports medicine.
You Matter Day
You Matter Day was created for and by students of Fresno County to show how much and why our community matters. The event brings together expanded learning programs, students, educators, friends, families, non-profit organizations, and local businesses to celebrate the gift of service.
Health Youth Corps 2023
This year’s Health Youth Corps, coordinated by the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools Health Services and Safe and Healthy Kids Departments, has been instrumental in building awareness on positive health outcomes for youth.
STEM for Girls
The STEM for Girls Conference coordinated by the Office of the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools Math and Science Department was held in October. The conference welcomes students for a day to discover the robust opportunities available in STEM-related business and education careers.
College Night
You know the school year has started when the first student event takes place and what a great way to start with College Night. Every year this event welcomes thousands of high school students to help them plan and prepare for college and career.