Funds Fuel Innovation in the Los Alamitos Unified School District

Technology is changing at a rapid pace in 2025. Blink and you feel behind. School districts are trying to stay on the cutting edge to prepare students for careers of the 21st century. 

In the Los Alamitos Unified School District, the district’s non-profit partner the Los Alamitos Education Foundation (LAEF) is having a tremendous impact in this effort. 

LAEF’s mission is to “prepare every child in our district for college and beyond.” To date, it has granted more than $702,000 in support of STEAM and innovation across the district. This past summer, the 40-year-old organization reimagined how it awards its Innovation Grants.

After years of offering the grants solely to STEM teachers, LAEF opened up the application to all staff members at the district’s nine campuses in Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, and Seal Beach. And the results were pleasantly surprising. 

A drama teacher, a physical education teacher, and a club adviser were among the 112 applicants who submitted their ideas. They were also among the 54 recipients of the grants that totaled $150,975.

Here are a few examples of the creative ways teachers are tapping into technology through LAEF’s Innovation Grants.

Heart Rate Monitors for P.E. Students

Laura Velasco has been a P.E. teacher at Oak Middle School for the past 11 years. A longtime runner, Velasco is a heart rate monitor devotee. For years, she’s wanted to offer monitors to her students, but the cost felt prohibitive. 

Thanks to the LAEF grant, she was able to secure 40 heart rate monitors for students. Her hope is that the new tools prompt kids to think differently about physical fitness.

“I'm really just hoping that it kickstarts some of them who think that they don't like running, to realize that you don't have to run fast to work your heart, to push your heart, and to increase your fitness level,” Velasco enthused in a recent phone interview, her passion for P.E. palpable. 

The monitors are worn on the wrist and are easy to use. “It's a really good tool for kids,” Velasco explained, “Because someone, for example, might have to run a 6:30 mile to get into that 80% heart rate zone … whereas somebody else might have to just run a twelve minute mile to get into theirs. … So everyone who's running at the same heart rate is working at the same level.” 

Velasco admitted she was not expecting to get the Innovation Grant, thinking the funds would likely go toward STEM educators. She shared that it was very easy to apply and was so excited to be named a grantee. 

“I'm just very grateful that [LAEF] saw an opportunity to help, not just in science and math … but to give us something that we can use in physical education, I think is just such a benefit,” Velasco said.

Virtual Reality Headsets for History Students

This may come as a surprise, but Los Alamitos High School history teacher James Contreras admits history class was not his favorite subject as a young student. That changed when, as an adult, he traveled to historic sites around the world, sparking a love of learning about the past. Contreras is now convinced technology can offer a similar opportunity, engaging his students in history lessons like never before.

With the ten virtual reality Meta Quest headsets Contreras purchased with his LAEF grant, he hopes to offer students “immersive learning experiences.”

“Imagine the student putting on the headset and they are transported to a battlefield in the American Revolution, explore ancient Roman ruins, watch Lincoln give the Gettysburg Address, or walk around in the Anne Frank house,” Contreras wrote in his grant application.

He notes that most high school students do not have the opportunity to visit historical sites in person, but VR can change that. During a recent interview, Contreras shared how one VR program offers a tour of Anne Frank’s house where students feel like they are actually opening doors and picking up items. “They’ve made it really interactive,” he said. 

Contreras said he is working with the district to implement proper protocols for the use of the Meta VR headsets before sending students on any virtual visits. But in his classroom last week, a few students were able to try headsets on, and they were excited about the tools. “This is cool!” one student exclaimed. 

The software and VR educational curriculum is still in its early stages of development, according to Contreras. He believes the LAHS history department will be on the forefront with its new technology. “I think we’re just barely scratching the surface of what these things can do,” he said.

Laser Cutter and Engraver for STEM Students

Inside the classroom of McAuliffe Middle School STEM teacher James Alvarado, Ed.D., you’ll find programmable robots on the wall, soldering tools on desks, and multiple 3D machines whirring. You’ll also find something new – a sleek Glowforge laser cutter and engraving machine that was purchased with funds from LAEF’s Innovation Grants. 

“I appreciate LAEF and all they have provided,” Dr. Alvarado said during a visit to his classroom last week.

His newest LAEF-funded device uses a precise laser beam to transform a student’s design into reality. It’s capable of working with plywood, acrylic, cardboard, and possibly more. Students used the Glowforge to create ornaments last month. But Dr. Alvarado envisions the tool being utilized for the creation of custom parts of robots and more. 

“My whole purpose of this class is to give [students] real-life skills,” Dr. Alvarado said. A former Latin teacher, he is now fully immersed in getting his students excited about the future of engineering and technology. He suggested the tools and experiences offered in middle school could influence and better prepare students for high school STEM classes and beyond. “I think it’s definitely a stepping stone to get them where they want to go,” he said.

Sewing Machine and 3D Printer for Drama Students

Renee Schwarz has been teaching drama at McAuliffe Middle School for three years. Since her first year, she’s been working to reimagine the program, frequently asking herself, “How can we update this?” 

Thanks to a LAEF Innovation Grant, she is enhancing the technical opportunities for her more than 100 theater students with a state-of-the-art sewing machine and a 3D printer.

“These machines/tools will have a big impact on student learning as they will be able to see their visions and designs come to life, compared to the past where we could only design on paper or online,” Schwarz wrote in her grant application. Schwarz envisions students using the sewing machine to fabricate and alter costumes. They can use the 3D printer to create custom props for plays. 

“They are tools for getting their ideas from paper to reality,” Schwarz explained in a recent interview. It all aligns with her plan to better engage students that may be interested in the performing arts, but don’t necessarily want to be in the spotlight on stage.

Schwarz noted that a 3D printer might be something you'd expect to see in a STEM lab rather than a drama classroom. But she encourages educators to get creative when it comes to applying for LAEF's Innovation Grants. “My advice to them is to think outside of the box for what the money can be used for,” Schwarz said.

Flight Simulator for Aviation Club Students

Traditional classrooms are not the only spaces where LAEF funds are fueling innovation.  One of this year’s recipients is the Aviation Club at Los Alamitos High School. Teacher Hayden Moy, the club’s adviser, applied for funds to purchase a flight simulator. The application states the device would “significantly impact student learning by offering an immersive, hands-on experience,” allowing students to practice and refine their piloting skills.

The simulator looks like something you might find at an arcade. But it’s much more sophisticated than any game, according to Aviation Club president Mason Roudabush, a junior who said he is working to earn his private pilot’s license. He said the flight simulator is an advanced tool students can use to practice maneuvers on land before they try them in the air. And the best part, it’s all done in a collaborative environment with friends.

“As a group we can experience and learn together,” Mason said. He shared that word about the flight simulator is spreading on campus and people are wanting to come check it out. “It’s bringing more interest. [Students] can come try it out and it could spark a passion for aviation,” Mason said.

“Now you have kids who get to follow their passions,” Moy said in an interview. “It’s something they couldn’t do without LAEF.”

In addition to this sampling of grantees, every single campus in the district is seeing LAEF Innovation Grant funding. Some of the other imaginative ideas include: 

• Podcasting Studio: At McGaugh Elementary, students will be working in a new Podcasting Studio as part of a grant received by 4th grade teacher Joseph Arias, Ed.D.
• Pizza Garden: As part of a science unit on plant life, weather, and water, Weaver Elementary teacher Darielle Tom will create a garden where 2nd graders will grow their own ingredients for a pizza.
• 3D Printer: At Lee Elementary, teacher Melissa Chambers is adding a 3D Printer, an InvenTABLE cardboard cutter, and Ozobots to her classroom.
• Sphero Robots: Rossmoor Elementary School Principal Amy Coltey requested funding to bring coding robots to the campus.
• Ocean Trash Unit: At Hopkinson Elementary, teacher Jeanne Harris will give students a hands-on experience with tools and art supplies in a lesson on the environmental impact of ocean pollution. 
• Salsa Garden: Kindergartners at Los Alamitos Elementary will grow the ingredients to make salsa with teacher Christina Paxon.
• Flower Delivery Business Supplies: Vhenus Belisle, a school psychologist with the Adult Transition Program, will use funds to purchase supplies to start a flower delivery business as part of a new Griffins Work Experience Program.

Fundraising Fuels Innovation

How does LAEF pay for these enriching grants? Fundraising. And LAEF’s biggest fundraising event of the year is happening on Feb. 1. LAEF’s Night Out will be a change from its Royal Galas from the past. It will feature a live band and is being held at the Seal Beach Pickleball and Tennis Center. The silent auction will remain and the goal will be to raise another $150,000 to continue bringing fresh, out-of-the-box opportunities to more of the district’s 9,000 students.

“As state funding for schools is tightening up, the importance of LAEF as the district’s non-profit partner becomes even more critical,” LAEF Executive Director Carrie Logue wrote in an email to Spotlight Schools. “LAEF donations are going right to our classrooms through our Innovation Grants.  I’m so proud of our community for stepping up and supporting LAEF in big ways, so that our students have creative curriculum and innovative supplies to keep their education top notch.”

Tickets to LAEF’s Night Out are on sale until Friday, January 24. Can’t make it? You can still register and bid on LAEF’s Silent Auction through Feb. 7. More information here.

And a reminder that LAEF isn’t just funding innovation at Los Alamitos USD campuses. It also has been fundamental in the creation and operating of WellSpaces at all school sites, offering after-school enrichment classes, and more. 

Editor’s Note: The author is a donor to the Los Alamitos Education Foundation’s Los Al Leadership Circle.