FN Mentors Awarded for Public Service

By Children Rising | October 27, 2015

In the July edition of our newsletter, we spotlighted Oakland students who won third place in a robotics competition at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis). Now it’s their mentors’ turn.


Mark and Joanne Perra, retired scientists and Children Rising volunteers, were recently presented with the Jefferson Award* for Public Service by KPIX, the Bay Area CBS television station. The Perras were nominated for their work in launching the first-ever programming and robotics course at Roosevelt Middle School in Oakland.

It all started when, a few years ago, Mark and Joanne attended an innovative C-STEM (Computer-Science-Technology-Engineering-Math) education conference at UC Davis. They wondered if Oakland schools could tap into the curriculum, which cultivates logical thinking using coding and programming. Children Rising and the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) worked with the Perras to launch the C-STEM course at Roosevelt last year. It was a success and will be taught again this year. Among other things, the students learn to program small robots to dance in sync!

Children Rising is grateful for Mark and Joanne’s work with Oakland children and congratulates them on this well-deserved recognition.

To watch the news clip and read the KPIX article,
visit http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/category/jefferson-awards/.
*The Jefferson Awards Foundation is a national nonprofit that strives to build a culture of service in the United States. Their media partners, KPIX among them, celebrate local heroes nominated from the community.

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