It was a heroic evening at Montage Laguna Beach on March 19th as SchoolPower’s 31st annual Dinner Dance “Calling All Superheroes” shattered records by netting over $350,000 for Laguna Beach schools.

Superman and Wonder Woman impersonators greeted 325 guests on the Montage lawn at sunset. When “kryptonite” appeared, the superheroes saved the day by guiding guests into the ballroom for dinner, where they were welcomed by SchoolPower Executive Director Robin Rounaghi and President Amy Kramer.

The highlight of the evening was the video for this year’s Fund-a-Need, “The Reimagined Classroom (and Library!)”, to support the district initiative of transforming 11 classrooms at the high school and middle school, as well as the Thurston library. Created by teachers Andy Crisp and Jun Shen and introduced by LBUSD’s Chief Technology Officer Mike Morrison, the fast-paced video had the crowd laughing out loud as they followed a twisting and far-fetched journey that ultimately led to the practical conclusion of investing in our schools’ future.

Completely energized by the video, the crowd gave a standing ovation to its creators and then gave a record-breaking $299,050 to the Fund-a-Need initiative. An extremely generous “double match” by the Wilson and Martini families, along with contributions from LBUSD and SchoolPower Endowment, maximized the impact of each donation exponentially. Due to exceeding the ambitious goal, 12 classrooms (instead of the original 11) in addition to the Thurston library will be reimagined with LCD displays, sound amplification and flexible furniture. This builds on last year’s Fund-a-Need, which helped the district modernize 12 classrooms to transform how Laguna students learn in this ever-changing world.

Parent Brent Martini explained, “Every upgraded space means more motivated and inspired teachers and students, and anytime you have that combination, high performing kids are a likely result. And that’s what this is all about…the fundamental belief that the better the learning environment, the better the learning, the better off our kids are at LBUSD.”

The dynamic duo of Lynn Gregory and Angela Shipp chaired this year’s dinner dance. Shipp commented, “The true heroes of the evening were all the generous people who stepped up to support our schools, and ultimately the students. It was a heroic effort by all!”

A generous sponsor of SchoolPower, Kristin Karkoska of Blue Sky’s Studio, is sharing her beautiful photos
(free of charge) with all SchoolPower supporters at www.clickingwithkristin.com