OPEF is excited to announce that we are beginning regular communication via our e-Newsletter, The OPEF Leaflet, coming to your inboxes very soon. With the many investments OPEF has made to our schools this 2018-2019 school year, it is important to us that we share with you updates on the wonderful programs we are funding with your support. Everything we do is to benefit your kids!

Oak Park Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides crucial financial support to all of the Oak Park Schools , filling the gap between state funding and the per-pupil cost of educating our kids. The importance of our foundation cannot be understated.

I am ecstatic to share so many exciting updates with our OPUSD parent community. My name is Brandon McFadden, and I joined OPEF two years ago as I became aware of the increasing need for private fundraising to fill the gap left by the state of California. I had the privilege of becoming the Board Chairman at the beginning of this current school year.

As a parent with two daughters at Brookside Elementary School, I became involved with our district’s education foundation in order to ensure that our kids have the highest quality and most enriched education possible. My wife Danielle is very involved with Brookside’s PTA as the VP of Programs so we are both passionate about the role these nonprofit organizations play in supporting important STEAM programming and providing additional paid and volunteer adults in the classrooms. OPEF works together in collaboration with the PTA/PFA at each of OPUSD’s schools.

The foundation recently made a critical step toward fulfilling our mission of supporting additional people and programs that enhance educational experiences and keep our schools ranked among the best in California. We brought in an Executive Director with impeccable credentials who is also a parent of an 8th grader at Medea Creek Middle School. Vicki Raven comes to us directly from leading fundraising for the United Way of Ventura County. We are so fortunate to have Vicki on our team, leading our dedicated volunteer Board of Directors, and if you don’t know her, I hope that you have an opportunity to meet with her very soon to learn more about OPEF and how you can help.

Oak Park Education Foundation has committed $350,000 in funding to all the schools in OPUSD for this current school year, and we are more than $100,000 short of our goal. We need your help! We commit to being 100% transparent with you on the need for OPEF, the programs we are funding, and exactly how much we are investing in specific programs that benefit your kids. We pay for all instructional aides in K-3 across all three elementary schools. We pay the salary of the recently hired (and much needed) counselor, Ms. Cyndi Smilor, at MCMS, and we are buying equipment needed for important STEAM classes at OPHS that help prepare your kids for a bright future.