April 20, 2006

Car dealership donates $80,000 to San Jose school programs

Robotics, libraries, summer school, and
workbooks among new resources

By Daniel DeBolt
Staff Writer

Students at several schools in San Jose, including Leland and Pioneer, will have more resources thanks to an $80,000 donation from Capitol Honda which was presented at Tuesday’s city council meeting.

Bob Kinney (general manager at Capitol Honda) is presenting the $80,000 check to the representatives of all 9 schools.

The large check was presented by Capitol Honda general manager Bob Kinney to representatives from nine different school programs in San Jose. The donation came with help from a program called United Auto for Kids public school donation program, which aims to raise $250,000 for Bay Area schools.

Leland High School will receive money to keep two programs open that would not exist without the donation. One is an after school tutoring program many students rely on for help with their homework to pass difficult classes.

The other is career counseling for sophomores who will be better prepared for college with help from the program.

At Pioneer High the robotics program will continue with $10,000 in funds. The program trains future engineers through the construction of a working robot which is then entered into an annual Silicon Valley competition.

“San Jose Unified School District applauds Capitol Honda’s support for our students and public education,” said Don Iglesias, San Jose Unified School District Superintendent. “Through this donation we can provide curriculum and education tools, such as books, after school and robotics programs, which contributes to the success of our students, regardless of socio-economic background.”

The other programs donated to include the Oak Grove School District summer school, Moreland School District library, Mount Pleasant School District Fine Arts program, Seven Tree Elementary science camp, Terrell Elementary science lab, Rachel Carson Elementary English workbooks and the Cambrian School District elementary summer reading program.