January 27, 2025 • 31 mins
How is the Carlsbad Educational Foundation reshaping the future of education? What innovative projects are transforming classrooms today? Join me as I sit down with Laura Pitts, the dynamic CEO of the Carlsbad Educational Foundation, to explore these questions and more.
In this episode of "Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact," Laura shares her inspiring journey from Ann Arbor, Michigan, through her academic pursuits at the University of Michigan and Purdue University Global, to her impactful role in education in California. Discover how her early career in field hockey coaching and substitute teaching paved the way for her leadership at Kaplan College and eventually led her to Carlsbad.
Laura passionately discusses the foundation's mission to support Carlsbad Unified School District students by funding music, STEAM, and innovative educational programs. Learn about the unique before and after school care program that fuels these initiatives and the exciting new teacher grant program fostering creativity in classrooms.
We also delve into the foundation's community engagement, from its vibrant annual gala to partnerships with local giants like ViaSat and Nordson. Plus, Laura shares insights into her personal life, her love for field hockey, and her family's role in education.
Tune in to discover how you can make a difference in Carlsbad's educational landscape. Whether through donations, gala participation, or corporate partnerships, your support is crucial in enriching students' experiences. Don't miss this inspiring conversation!
Laura Pitts' Bio:
Laura Pitts has served as the CEO of Carlsbad Educational Foundation since October 2020, leading the organization’s efforts to provide critical funding and enrichment opportunities for students in the Carlsbad Unified School District.
A Michigan native, Laura relocated to California in 2009, bringing with her a passion for education and community development. Prior to her role at the Foundation, Laura built an impressive career in the for-profit educational sector. She worked with students of all ages, managed a tutoring program for elementary students, and served as campus president for Kaplan College. Her dedication to education is underscored by her commitment to helping students achieve their potential and fostering partnerships with passionate educators.
Laura holds a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Purdue University Global and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Organizational Studies from the University of Michigan. Her educational background equips her with a strong foundation in leadership and organizational development, which she applies to advancing the Foundation’s mission.
Outside of her professional life, Laura enjoys spending quality time with her husband and their two rambunctious young boys, both students in the Carlsbad Unified School District.
Connect with Laura:
LindIn: Laura Stinson Pitts
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Intro (00:02):
Carlsbad, people, purpose, and impact, an
essential podcast for those wholive, work, visit, and play in
Carlsbad.
Bret (00:14):
Good morning, and welcome, everyone. My name is Brett
Schonzenbach. I'm the presidentand CEO at the Carlsbad Chamber
of Commerce. I'm your host thismorning, and I'm excited to have
with me Laura Pitts. Laura isthe CEO of the Carlsbad
Educational Foundation.
Good morning, Laura. Goodmorning. So good to have you
here.
Laura Pitts (00:33):
I'm excited to be here.
Bret (00:34):
Yeah. You're excited, but you're also stressed because you
kept emailing me about what wewere gonna talk about.
Laura Pitts (00:39):
Well, I've never been on a podcast. This very,
very official.
Bret (00:42):
So fun. Right?
Laura Pitts (00:43):
It is.
Bret (00:44):
But it's all super chill. We're just gonna have a fun
conversation here. And you and Ihave known each other for
several years now, which is fun,and I know you as a Midwest girl
originally, but I don't exactlyknow your origin. I got
University of Michigan, ofcourse, for your undergrad and
then Purdue for your MBA. Sotell us where where you were
(01:08):
born and raised and all thatkind of stuff.
And
Laura Pitts (01:10):
Well, I was born and raised in Ann Arbor,
Michigan, so I was born awolverine. My parents went to
Michigan. And, You couldn'tescape it. I I tried. I played
field hockey in college, and Ireally looked going elsewhere
and just fell in love with thecoach and this the school.
And I went on an official visit,and I got lost in the town. I
was like, this is where I shouldbe because it didn't feel like
(01:31):
my hometown. So
Bret (01:32):
That's awesome.
Laura Pitts (01:32):
But then it said the second I graduated, I
escaped and moved to Chicago anddid that for about 6 or 8 years
and then ended up in California.
Bret (01:41):
Very nice. Yeah. My wife's a Ann Arbor girl as well. So,
yes. Got some strong ties there.
But I find it interesting thatyou went when you went to
Purdue, you got your MBA. PurdueUniversity Global. It was the
online school that I did.
Laura Pitts (01:58):
Okay. Yep.
Bret (01:58):
But you got your MBA, which is a master's in business,
but you've been in this businessslash educational space pretty
much your whole career.
Laura Pitts (02:10):
Mhmm.
Bret (02:10):
Always in some vein of the education world going back to,
like, Kaplan College and allthat kind of stuff. So how did
you get into that, you know,line of work?
Laura Pitts (02:22):
When I graduated from Michigan, I moved to
Chicago, and, I started coachingfield hockey in the high school
level and substitute teaching.And the coach there was like, I
don't why are you not a teacher?And I'm like, it didn't occur to
me in undergrad that that wouldbe a good path for me. And so I
came across this organizationcalled SCORE, and it was a
tutoring center for kids thatwork with kids 5 years old
(02:43):
through, 8th grade. And it wasreally like a a business
program, like a businessmanagement training program for
young adults.
And so I ended up in thatprogram and just loved the
business aspect of it, but Ireally have always loved working
with kids.
Bret (02:59):
Yeah.
Laura Pitts (02:59):
And so I did I worked at SCORE in Chicago until
2009 and SCORE closed, and Iended up transitioning to a
different division of Kaplan,which is how I met you and
working at Kaplan College. And Imoved out to California for
that. And so at that point,because of SCORE, I'd really
built my business skills and Iended up getting an MBA at that
point. And so I always knew Iwanted to be in education. That
(03:20):
what that's what feels right.
That's what I enjoy. I loveworking with kids. But I I never
got an education degree and so Inever took the path of being a
teacher and
Bret (03:28):
Yeah.
Laura Pitts (03:29):
This has been a really fulfilling way to kind of
work with kids and also just bekind of an entrepreneur. Some of
the jobs I've done have reallyallowed me to make a lot of
decisions and and have creativeways to work with kids.
Bret (03:43):
Yeah. Yeah. Very nice. So so Kaplan College, is that what
brought you to the West Coastworking with them?
Laura Pitts (03:51):
It is. Yep. I transitioned to Kaplan in 2009.
Bret (03:55):
And tell everybody who doesn't aren't isn't familiar
with Kaplan, what Kaplan is orwas. I don't know. Is it still
the same?
Laura Pitts (04:02):
Kaplan is a very large educational company that
has multiple differentdivisions. SCORE was the
division I was working ininitially, which was tutoring
center for kids and then I endedup moving to the higher ed
division. It is no longer, butit was a career technical
college and we were primarily amedical school. And when I first
moved to California, I was inthis rotational program training
new campus presidents. And so Igot to learn everything about
(04:24):
the business and the educationalaspects and accreditation.
And so after that, I got, I wasput at, the Chula Vista campus
as director of operations andeventually the Vista campus,
which is where I met you as thecampus president. And so I I I
loved that job. We had a we hada great staff. We had really
good student outcomes. The thingI was most most proud of, I
(04:47):
would say, is our nursingprogram.
We had a really successfulnursing program. There was 1
year where 100% of our, studentsthat we accepted not only
graduated, they also passed theNCLEX. And so, you know, I think
career technical educationschools, a lot of times, get a
bad rap for student outcomes,and I was very proud of the
student outcomes we had at thatschool. And it was it was fun.
(05:07):
We had about a 100 employees and6 to 800 students at any given
time.
Nice. Yeah.
Bret (05:13):
That was a fun time when, we got to know each other there
because, you guys were hostingour monthly rising star of the
month breakfast
Laura Pitts (05:21):
Mhmm.
Bret (05:21):
At Kaplan and which was great. We would, bring our our
rising stars to your campus, andand, it was a really fun, way of
you guys supporting that and usexposing kids to Kaplan. You
know? That campus, of course,prior to being Kaplan had been,
like, National University and, Idon't know, like Merrick
(05:44):
College. College.
And so so it was good. We wereable to bring kids and let them
know what what you guys were upto, and got to interact with
some of your students that waytoo. But then, as all things do,
things change Yep. And thingsmove on. And, I came here to
Carlsbad at the very beginningof 2019, and you came to the Ed
(06:08):
Foundation in 2020.
Mhmm. Tell us about that.
Laura Pitts (06:12):
Yeah. I came I'm you came in 2019. I didn't
realize that you I came veryshortly after. I came in
December of 2019.
Bret (06:18):
Okay. So Oh, yeah. So I it was January. Yeah. So Yeah.
Basically the same year.
Laura Pitts (06:22):
Yeah. So we, Kaplan closed. So we we had been we had
been Brightwood College at thetime. We'd been sold to a norm
another organization, and thethe school closed. And, that was
it was a really awful experiencejust Yeah.
Closing our doors on thestudents and the staff and, that
had happened to a number of ourcompetitors as well. And so I
just I wanted to do somethingnew. And so I I looked into all
(06:44):
sorts of different areas inhigher ed, as well as nonprofit,
and I had I had not worked in anonprofit before. But I ended up
reaching out to you for for somehelp and getting my foot in the
door here. So maybe maybe you'repartly responsible, which
Bret (06:57):
is great.
Laura Pitts (06:57):
I can give you some credit.
Bret (06:58):
I'll take it. But
Laura Pitts (07:00):
I was hired to run the earned income, side of our
organization, which was, again,something I was really familiar
with with my business backgroundand, that's kind of running the,
the kids care and after schoolenrichment. And there was a
leadership transition, and thiswas a a good path for me to to
take over as CEO.
Bret (07:17):
Yeah. Very nice. Of course, you came in in, what'd
you say? December 2019. Which,of course, all of us know means
3 months later, the worldchanged.
Right. Yep. Had to have beenkind of fun. You thought you
knew what you were gettingyourself into?
Laura Pitts (07:34):
I did. It was definitely difficult, supporting
working families in a pandemicthat did after school care was
definitely a challenge. Andthat's
Bret (07:43):
a good point that we're gonna pause right here because I
wanna get into that story injust a second. So we are talking
to Laura Pitts, the CEO of theCarlsbad Educational Foundation.
And stick with us. We'll beright back. When we come back,
we're gonna talk more about whatthe Ed Foundation does in their
programs and how you can getinvolved.
So stay with us. We'll be rightback. So, Laura, before the
(09:05):
break, we were just starting toget into, your current role of
the Ed Foundation, and let'sjust pretend there might be
somebody listening to this who'snever heard of the Carlsbad
Educational Foundation. So telleverybody what you guys do, and
how you operate, and then we'llkinda get into some of your
programs and fundraising andetcetera.
Laura Pitts (09:26):
Sure. So I can kinda start at the beginning.
We've been around since 19eighties, and this is an
organization that was created byconcerned parents, and they
initially wanted to fundraisefor a variety of things. 1 was a
library, to just help supporttheir students when where
funding gaps existed. And so,fast forward to today, the
(09:47):
organization has evolved in a avariety of ways.
We're a very very largeorganization and our funding
priorities are to supportstudents in music, STEAM, which
is, like, science, technology,engineering, arts and
mathematics, as well as music,and then just general education
innovation. So things that thedistrict might wanna do, but
(10:07):
they don't have, the rightfunding to to pilot something
or, you know, something that ateacher an idea they have that
might be considered innovative,we like to to help push the
envelope on those types ofeducational opportunities. And,
we fundraise in a variety ofways and we're very unique at
Foundation in the fact that, atsome point in our history, we
took over the before and afterschool care program for our
(10:29):
district. And so families, areable to receive childcare
on-site that we provide. So wehave a large staff.
We have almost, you know, Iwould say about 80 employees
that work in our childcareprogram and it's a licensed
career a licensed program sofamilies can feel confident that
their kids are safe afterschool. And all of the proceeds
that we make in that in thatprogram help to fund some of the
(10:51):
vital programs that we do,within the school day. And so,
we engage with teachers andfaculty and staff and
administration to figure outways that we can best support
the district. We're primarilyhere to create, programs that
will be experienced districtwide. So unlike a PTA that's
gonna be raising specificallyfor their school site, all of
(11:12):
our programs, we look throughthe lens of how can we improve
the general educationallandscape for all kids in the
district.
So, for example, if we're gonnafund science supplies at one
school, we're gonna do, youknow, a per student kind of
uniform funding for all schools.And so, in general, we're just
we're here to be, a helpful armof the district to really
(11:33):
improve the educationalexperience for all students.
Bret (11:37):
That's great. And I think you said it, but, just to
clarify, I mean, you guys workspecifically with Carlsbad
Unified School District becauseI know some of our Carlsbad
residents, are in differentschool districts. Mhmm. And you
guys are, specifically charteredto help with the Carlsbad
Unified specifically, which isgreat. Yep.
(11:57):
And are your after and beforeschool day care programs, are
they on every site?
Laura Pitts (12:04):
They're on every elementary school site, so
there's 9 of them.
Bret (12:07):
Okay. Excellent. And, you guys give a lot Mhmm. Of money.
I mean, it's it's impressive.
And, you know, I've hadexperience with some other
educational foundations, and, Iknow you you probably interact
with Ed Foundations all over thecountry, but, at least in my
(12:31):
little neck of the woods, theamount that you guys give is,
it's Yeah. Light years beyondwhat I've seen. So I saw just
some stats on your website,like, this year alone, this
school year, over 1,500,000 thatyou guys have given, to schools.
And, there was something about awas it it was a new something
(12:54):
new, some teacher thing
Laura Pitts (12:55):
Teacher grant.
Bret (12:56):
That you'd given $50,000.
Laura Pitts (12:58):
Talk about that. Yeah. So we did I will start
with this year. It's 1,500,000is the budget. It's and change.
Bret (13:04):
There's a little bit more of
Laura Pitts (13:05):
that, that we've got available in our budget to
give. And, the majority of thoseprograms, were these district
wide programs. And Mhmm.
Bret (13:12):
What
Laura Pitts (13:12):
we were finding was at the elementary level, it's
really easy to provide a similarexperience to all schools
because you just, you know, outall if you wanna do, again,
music supplies or sciencesupplies or field trips, you
just look at how many kids thereare. Everybody all the schools
are doing something fairlysimilar, so it's pretty easy to
give uniform funding. What washappening at secondary, which is
(13:32):
the middle school and highschool, is there are a lot of
nuances at the differentschools. Especially at the 2
high schools, there's a lot ofclasses that are offered at Sage
Creek that are not offered atCarlsbad, and it just felt like
sometimes that there the equitypiece that we were seeking to,
like, make sure that each of theschools are getting something
similar didn't exist at the highschool at at times. And so our
(13:53):
thought was if we could come upwith a teacher grant program, it
would do a couple of things.
One, it would provide anopportunity for all teachers to
to ask for money and to helpfund some of their programs that
they're really excited about. Italso would help us build better
relationships with teachersbecause, you know, if you're a
teacher that's funding, you maybe grateful for it. But if you
didn't ask for it, sometimesyou're not able to use it in a
(14:15):
way that is as impactful asyou'd want when you've got this
other idea in
Bret (14:18):
your head. So That's yeah. That makes sense.
Laura Pitts (14:20):
Yeah. So by launching the teacher grant
program, again, we market itdirectly to teachers and
administrators, but the thegrants came directly from the
teachers. And, we didn't haveany idea what we were gonna get.
Yeah. We've not done it before.
But we got some really, reallyneat requests. And, we we
launched it in the fall, and weturned it around very quickly
because we wanted the teachersto have the money this year. So
(14:43):
we had a very small window. Weopened it up. We got a lot of
requests, and we were able tofund about 75% of the requests
we were able to fund, but I cantell you about some of the
programs if you wanna hear aboutsome of the specifics.
I love it. Let's go. Yeah. So,again, our our funding
priorities are music, steam, andeducation innovation, and we
accepted grants that were fromany neck of the woods in the
(15:04):
district, but that was kind of,you know, we're gonna give extra
weight to those programs. Sure.
And, so I would say the most theunique one that we funded that
felt that we hadn't funded inthe past, we got a request for,
PE heart rate monitors for SageCreek High School.
Bret (15:19):
Okay.
Laura Pitts (15:19):
And PE is not within our funding priorities.
We don't typically fundsomething like that. But it was
heart rate monitors. It was away for them to to really figure
out how to motivate students andto identify, like, you know,
some students, like, if they runa lap, that's a big deal for
them. That might be a big dealfor their health.
Like, that that and others arethat doesn't do anything for
them. So the heart rate monitorallows them to give some
(15:40):
feedback. And so it it was arequest that our board and our
committee for this grant,thought was really cool, and so
we funded that. And it was greatbecause the teacher immediately
they've already started usingit. They're, you know, they're
putting up stuff for us onsocial and showing us some of
the ways that they're they'reexcited about that grant, and so
it was just a really cool way toinfuse technology into PE.
(16:02):
I love that.
Bret (16:03):
I mean, like you were saying, it's a I love giving the
teachers a way to try and fundtheir own creativity, their own
innovation. You know, youmentioned yeah. You might be
grateful if you, you know, gotsome supplies for this or that.
But if it wasn't something youspecifically asked for, you
(16:25):
know, versus as you just pointedout, somebody gets an idea and
they they wanna they can see it.That's tangible.
It's like, oh, this would be socool if we could do this or if
we had a way to do that, andthen you guys fund it. Oh,
that's amazing. Mhmm.
Laura Pitts (16:39):
Yeah. Love it. And another one I'll share, we had
several requests forwhiteboards. And when we first
read the first, like, version ofjust reading the request, it
sounded kind of boring if I'mbeing honest. Yeah.
And but then we started reallydigging into, like, why do the
teachers want this? And severalteachers, the math the entire
math department at Sage Creekwrote a grant as well as an
English class at Carlsbad High.And we started really looking
(17:00):
into it, but it's just awhiteboard, which again doesn't
sound all that innovative.Right. But what the whole point
was was you're kinda likeflipping the classroom.
So you're getting kids up. It'smore collaborative. You're
you're you all are looking atsomething with the same,
orientation versus if we'resitting across from each other,
the orientation's to me and notto you. And so I had a chance,
(17:20):
to see again some pictures ofthe the classrooms that have
been using this. And it's justlike all the kids are standing
up and they're just superengaged.
And I just thought it was reallyinteresting, and it's a good
example of we have greatteachers in this district. And
when you're able to give them Imean, that was not even a very
expensive grant. When you'reable to provide these materials,
it really changes and invigor itinvigorates the teacher and it
really changes theirenvironment, and it's just
(17:41):
better for students. So it itwas it was really cool. We're
gonna do the teacher grantprogram hopefully annually.
This year, we're going to, openthe window in, like, April, May
so teachers can ask for it forthe following fall early enough
that we can let them know andnotify them in, like, June so
they know going into summerwhat's what their funding is
gonna look like for the nextschool year.
Bret (18:02):
That's amazing. Yeah. I really I really think that what
you hit on there were havingrequests generated directly from
the boots on the ground, andthen you guys helping to fund
that is so wonderful andimpactful. I know you've
mentioned it, and, I know fromworking with you guys, music is
(18:26):
a big passion. So, tell us Iknow I I read it already, but
tell our audience Yeah.
What you guys do for thedistrict when it comes to music.
Laura Pitts (18:35):
Music funding is so awesome. So we provide funding
for t k through 12th grade inmusic, and there's a variety of
things we do in the middle inthe middle and high school
space. For a long time, we'vebeen funding, coaches, repairs,
and instruments. So some of theschools will have, a secondary
teacher that would a coach thatcomes in to help with just
overall instruction of music.Also musical instruments are
(18:58):
really expensive.
Yeah. And so we help pay forthose instruments. The repairs
are expensive. And so that'sjust something that we've been
doing for a long time. In theelementary space, last year was
the 1st year that we were ableto do this, but we were able to
take funding that was newfunding that the state had
provided, for the schools.
And then but it it fell short toallow, the funding that they
(19:19):
really needed in the elementaryspace. So then we were able to
combine the school funds withour funds and afford full time
music teachers. And that was thefirst time that maybe ever that
they've they've had full timemusic certainly in the last 20
years is what I've been told.And I can tell you and I've I've
shared this with, with othersbefore, but my kids go to
Calavera Elementary School andthe the change I've seen on the
(19:41):
campus with having a musicprogram was profound. So I
before Way to Music Teacher, Iwould go to our assemblies and
there would be a handful ofparents that would show up.
Now that we have a music teacherand we've got regular
performances from students, it'slike there's hundreds of people
that show up for theseassemblies. And, just even I
shared this at the school boardmeeting this last week. I got a
(20:03):
message from PAC RIM's t PacificRoom Elementary's music teacher
and same thing. Like, theythey've been doing these great
performances. I think it'shappening at all the schools.
We're just and it's bringing thewhole community in. And students
are excited. My my kid, is notan overly musical human, and
he's in choir. And it's justlike and he's cool. He's a
again, he's a 3rd grader, andit's just like now he's, like,
(20:24):
singing around our house.
And so Yeah. It's just it's neatto see how music kinda taps into
a different part of kids, youknow, being and
Bret (20:31):
And brain and brain development. And So
Laura Pitts (20:35):
and and before, the schools had music teachers, but
when they're part time and it itjust it was hard for them to
Yeah. Some some were great, butthen other times, schools didn't
have any at all. So it's it'sdefinitely been
Bret (20:45):
a big, profound change. Yeah. That's fantastic. I'm
coming from a family of, kids inthe arts. I'm like, yep.
Laura Pitts (20:53):
Mhmm.
Bret (20:53):
You're on the right path. Yep. Yeah. Those are really good
things to to have in ourschools. So, you got one of the
ways besides your, before andafter school care program, which
is your bread and butter, butyou also have an annual gala.
Yes. And, by the time peoplehear our conversation, it
(21:16):
actually probably won't be thatfar till
Laura Pitts (21:18):
Okay.
Bret (21:18):
Gala time. So tell us about, your gala and what you
think you have on tap for 2025's gala.
Laura Pitts (21:25):
Yeah. So we it's we are so excited to talk about 20
25's gala. It's gonna be great.This will be our 4th annual gala
we've run. We have consolidatedall of our events to 1 because
we feel like that's the best wayto use staff's resources.
And the thing that we reallylove about the gala is we're
bringing together, you know, a alot of people. We had about 600
(21:45):
in the last couple of years, sowe're hoping to have that this
year. But it's a it's a chancefor us to bring everyone
together and really celebratewhat we do, and and the hopes
are that people attend and leavereally understanding our
mission. But it's gonna takeplace, once again at Omni La
Costa, and it is on should I getthe date right? It's on May
17th, Saturday, May 17th, and wehave a band, the might mighty
(22:07):
untouchables, which are gonna bedance hits.
So it is a really, really funevent. We've got a great silent
auction. We've got a great band.Like, it's a really good fun
guest experience, but we do relyheavily on the proceeds from
that event. Because even thoughI I mentioned that we do have,
we're a very unique edfoundation, the fact that we've
got these, after school programsand things that can help raise
(22:28):
money, but we do really rely onour charitable giving as well to
make sure that we're able tofund these vital programs.
Bret (22:34):
And I will say from personal experience, your, galas
are a lot of fun. Yes. And theWe we have to kick people out.
So it is a good sign.
Laura Pitts (22:44):
Definitely, like, we're we definitely have to kick
people out.
Bret (22:47):
So it's definitely worth of people putting on their
calendar for May 17th and Yeah.And planning on, you know, get
your company to buy a table orMhmm. You know, come
individually. And then butpeople, I assume I don't like
assuming, so I'm gonna ask you,but I I assume people could just
give directly to you.
Laura Pitts (23:06):
Yeah. We, by the time this airs, our our annual
campaign will have, wrapped up,but we do, rely heavily on our,
like, just local community. Youknow, my it's my hope that we
really show people that thevalue of just participating in
philanthropic giving in general,whether it's to our
organization, which, of course,I hope. But just in general, I
think when you're givingphilanthropically, it makes you
(23:28):
feel part of the community. And,you know, people might be very
surprised to hear CarlsbadUnified School District, at
least as recent as I've heard,is the 2nd lowest unified school
district, in terms of funding inSan Diego County.
Bret (23:42):
I did not know that.
Laura Pitts (23:43):
Yeah. And the reason there's it's a
complicated formula that Icouldn't begin to explain
correctly, but I will say one ofthe main reasons is is that,
school if if you've got a titleone school, you get more
funding. Yeah. And we don't haveas many. We have a we have a
couple, but we don't have asmany.
And so what happens is whenyou're getting less funding,
there there are positions like,again, full time music teachers,
(24:04):
PE teachers, science teacher. Imean, these things are not
funded by the state and, eventhings in the middle school
level. I mean, one of the thingsI like to talk about because
it's one of our, I think,coolest programs, we provide
science supplies at the middleschool. We call it Science Lab
Supercharge, and the stateprovides under a dollar per
student for science, and we areable to, with the help of our
(24:27):
community and our businesscommunity, we're able to give
$13 a student. Nice.
And then we also give $1500 toeach school in addition to that.
So you're taking you know, ifyou've only got a dollar a
student, it really limits whatyou can do.
Bret (24:39):
You mean like a dollar per year? Yeah. That's Like, it's
not a lot of money. Nothing.
Laura Pitts (24:44):
And so when you're able to do more I mean, you go
to a science class now, andthey're they're shooting off
rockets. They're Yeah. They'redissecting cow eyes, and I I
know because we buy them forthem. So it's like, it's just
really cool hands on stuff. And,
Bret (24:58):
But it's those things that enrich it so much for the kids
Yeah. And make it tangible,meaningful.
Laura Pitts (25:03):
And And so when families, like, see that the the
challenge we really have is Ithink a lot of times, if you're
not if you're not a familythat's really paying attention
or or in the know about thisstuff, you just assume the
school's paying for it. Yeah.Because why wouldn't your school
be paying Yeah. For the musicteacher? Why wouldn't the
musical instruments be providedby the district?
And so, again, it's just there'sthere's funding gaps that the
(25:25):
district's really gotta gottabattle, and so we're here to
help with that.
Bret (25:28):
And the and the community is really helpful in in raising
those funds. And, Carlsbad isnot what we would call in San
Diego County a large schooldistrict. Mhmm. It's actually
one of the smaller Yep. Schooldistricts.
So, so I think having, you guysin there and enriching what's
(25:49):
possible is so valuable andvital. And, yeah, everybody
should be supporting you, comingto the gala, you know, just
giving directly to make animpact in these these students'
lives and the program. So and ifthey wanted to learn more and,
start investigating or startgiving, I your your website
(26:09):
would be a great place to start?
Laura Pitts (26:10):
Yep. Website would be a perfect place to start.
There's a place that just says,like, ways again, I believe it
says, like, ways to give andways to get involved. Maybe
that's what it says. There's a avariety of different ways.
And that's carlsbaded.org. Itis. Yeah. Carlsbadeded.org.
Bret (26:26):
Very cool. And I know, you know, jumping over to the
personal side of life, youmentioned your, your field
hockey, experience. You and Iwere, texting recent leagues. I
wasn't sure if you were gonnamake it today because your your
alma mater's hosting, the fieldhockey, what, final 4 or what?
Laura Pitts (26:47):
Final the NCAA final four is this in Ann Arbor,
this year on my old field.
Bret (26:51):
And We did not make it sitting here
Laura Pitts (26:53):
at this podcast with you, which I am so happy
about. But I do wish we hadrescheduled because I wish I was
Bret (27:00):
In Ann Arbor.
Laura Pitts (27:01):
Face paint today, in the snow in Ann Arbor because
it also did snow thereyesterday.
Bret (27:05):
Oh, well, I saw the last night I mean, again, by the time
people hear this, you know, youand I are sitting here in mid
November, and I saw last night,there was a NFL game in
Cleveland that was a total justlike a snowball. I mean, it was
they were playing in a fullblown snowstorm. So I can
imagine Michigan is also coatedin white this morning for
Laura Pitts (27:29):
a field. Michigan likes to bring competitors to
play in that condition becausethey're ready for
Bret (27:35):
it. So They're bred for it? Correct. Yes. I saw too, and
I know you mentioned at onepoint you had coached some field
hockey.
It looks like when you got outhere, you did a little bit at
RBV and stuff way back in Yeah.Probably before you had your own
kiddos and stuff like that.
Laura Pitts (27:49):
I did. Yeah. Yeah. I did Torrey Pines and RBV just
as a volunteer.
Bret (27:53):
Yeah. That's great. It was awesome. But now you have 2
lively boys that keep you,moving.
Laura Pitts (27:58):
I do. Yes.
Bret (28:00):
3rd grade, and what's your other one? 1st. 3rd and first.
Oh, that's great. Yeah.
Well, that'll keep you, on yourtoes to say the least. And I
believe, your husband's ateacher as well, so you guys are
really into the education thingall around. Yep. Is it high
school?
Laura Pitts (28:15):
He teaches high school. He's at Vista High
School.
Bret (28:17):
Yep. Yep. Very nice. I remember that from back in the
day. Well, thank you for allthat you do.
Again, the ED Foundation here inCarlsbad is just such a major
component of our community, and,I love, our relationship with
the the chamber and you guys.And I'm so glad to have you
(28:39):
personally in this role and,having worked together so long
before we got both got toCarlsbad. But, yeah, it's just
great. And thank you for takingthe time to come down and share
with everybody.
Laura Pitts (28:49):
You're welcome. And can I add one other thing? I
wanted to say we'd shared about,you know, the importance of
individual giving and Yeah.Engaging the community that way,
and that's extremely important.But, again, considering we're on
a podcast with the Chamber, Ialso just wanted to share, we've
got some really impactful andimportant corporate partners and
Nice.
We've got a really good supportfrom the Carlsbad community. And
I I wanted to just share this ifin case, one, to thank the those
(29:12):
that are current sponsors, butalso if there's somebody that's
looking to get involved Yes.Some of the ways that we get
involved with organizations,like ViaSat, for example, is a
great example. They host ourScience Olympiad program. They
also provide funding, but theyalso we their their employees
are our coaches.
Bret (29:29):
Nice.
Laura Pitts (29:30):
And so we've got ways that, like, for
organizations that want to buildup their employer base and,
like, we can work together tojust connect students with their
organization. Nordson is anotherexample. Like, they're a big
supporter
Bret (29:42):
of our
Laura Pitts (29:42):
robotics program. And, again, not just
financially, but their employeesare our coaches. And I I just
I'm eternally grateful for thatbecause it makes our program
better. We've got, we have 2other, like, major, I would say,
programs that are worth at leastsharing. I mean, one of them is,
Millpore Sigma.
I had mentioned the science thescience supplies in middle
(30:03):
school. I mean, they are reallyinvolved with, like, helping
with the funding for sciencesupplies as well as Thermo
Fisher comes out. Again, notonly do they help financially,
but they come out during ourscience days and help volunteer
for it. So Love it. That issomething I just wanted to make
sure I didn't forget to mentionis that we really also rely
heavily on our community here.
And, again, I've I've been toldI I don't know who said this. I
(30:25):
don't know if it was mypredecessor or where this came
from, but just like thefoundation of great communities
or great schools and and viceversa. Great schools are built
on great communities. And Ithink the more that we can work
together, we've got such a vitalbusiness community. I think
there's just so manyopportunities to kinda help
intertwine them with theeducational community as well.
Bret (30:42):
Absolutely. That's great. So, yeah, if you're hearing
about this for the first timeout there in our listening
audience, make sure you reachout to Laurie and her team at,
carls.ed.org and find out waysyou can get your company
involved and support themfinancially, come out and be
boots on the ground with them asthey impact students' lives.
Laura Pitts (31:03):
Very cool.
Bret (31:04):
That's what it's all about. Right?
Laura Pitts (31:05):
Yes. Absolutely.
Bret (31:06):
It's all about. Yeah. Very cool. Well, thanks for coming
down today. Thanks.
This was fun. Yes. Good to haveyou. Thanks for joining us today
on our Carlsbad People, Purposeand Impact podcast. If you got
value out of our episode today,please hit the follow button on
your favorite podcast app, andplease tell a friend.
Can't wait to see you next timeon Carlsbad People, Purpose, and
(31:27):
Impact.
Carlsbad, people, purpose, and impact, an
essential podcast for those wholive, work, visit, and play in
Carlsbad.
Bret (00:14):
Good morning, and welcome, everyone. My name is Brett
Schonzenbach. I'm the presidentand CEO at the Carlsbad Chamber
of Commerce. I'm your host thismorning, and I'm excited to have
with me Laura Pitts. Laura isthe CEO of the Carlsbad
Educational Foundation.
Good morning, Laura. Goodmorning. So good to have you
here.
Laura Pitts (00:33):
I'm excited to be here.
Bret (00:34):
Yeah. You're excited, but you're also stressed because you
kept emailing me about what wewere gonna talk about.
Laura Pitts (00:39):
Well, I've never been on a podcast. This very,
very official.
Bret (00:42):
So fun. Right?
Laura Pitts (00:43):
It is.
Bret (00:44):
But it's all super chill. We're just gonna have a fun
conversation here. And you and Ihave known each other for
several years now, which is fun,and I know you as a Midwest girl
originally, but I don't exactlyknow your origin. I got
University of Michigan, ofcourse, for your undergrad and
then Purdue for your MBA. Sotell us where where you were
(01:08):
born and raised and all thatkind of stuff.
And
Laura Pitts (01:10):
Well, I was born and raised in Ann Arbor,
Michigan, so I was born awolverine. My parents went to
Michigan. And, You couldn'tescape it. I I tried. I played
field hockey in college, and Ireally looked going elsewhere
and just fell in love with thecoach and this the school.
And I went on an official visit,and I got lost in the town. I
was like, this is where I shouldbe because it didn't feel like
(01:31):
my hometown. So
Bret (01:32):
That's awesome.
Laura Pitts (01:32):
But then it said the second I graduated, I
escaped and moved to Chicago anddid that for about 6 or 8 years
and then ended up in California.
Bret (01:41):
Very nice. Yeah. My wife's a Ann Arbor girl as well. So,
yes. Got some strong ties there.
But I find it interesting thatyou went when you went to
Purdue, you got your MBA. PurdueUniversity Global. It was the
online school that I did.
Laura Pitts (01:58):
Okay. Yep.
Bret (01:58):
But you got your MBA, which is a master's in business,
but you've been in this businessslash educational space pretty
much your whole career.
Laura Pitts (02:10):
Mhmm.
Bret (02:10):
Always in some vein of the education world going back to,
like, Kaplan College and allthat kind of stuff. So how did
you get into that, you know,line of work?
Laura Pitts (02:22):
When I graduated from Michigan, I moved to
Chicago, and, I started coachingfield hockey in the high school
level and substitute teaching.And the coach there was like, I
don't why are you not a teacher?And I'm like, it didn't occur to
me in undergrad that that wouldbe a good path for me. And so I
came across this organizationcalled SCORE, and it was a
tutoring center for kids thatwork with kids 5 years old
(02:43):
through, 8th grade. And it wasreally like a a business
program, like a businessmanagement training program for
young adults.
And so I ended up in thatprogram and just loved the
business aspect of it, but Ireally have always loved working
with kids.
Bret (02:59):
Yeah.
Laura Pitts (02:59):
And so I did I worked at SCORE in Chicago until
2009 and SCORE closed, and Iended up transitioning to a
different division of Kaplan,which is how I met you and
working at Kaplan College. And Imoved out to California for
that. And so at that point,because of SCORE, I'd really
built my business skills and Iended up getting an MBA at that
point. And so I always knew Iwanted to be in education. That
(03:20):
what that's what feels right.
That's what I enjoy. I loveworking with kids. But I I never
got an education degree and so Inever took the path of being a
teacher and
Bret (03:28):
Yeah.
Laura Pitts (03:29):
This has been a really fulfilling way to kind of
work with kids and also just bekind of an entrepreneur. Some of
the jobs I've done have reallyallowed me to make a lot of
decisions and and have creativeways to work with kids.
Bret (03:43):
Yeah. Yeah. Very nice. So so Kaplan College, is that what
brought you to the West Coastworking with them?
Laura Pitts (03:51):
It is. Yep. I transitioned to Kaplan in 2009.
Bret (03:55):
And tell everybody who doesn't aren't isn't familiar
with Kaplan, what Kaplan is orwas. I don't know. Is it still
the same?
Laura Pitts (04:02):
Kaplan is a very large educational company that
has multiple differentdivisions. SCORE was the
division I was working ininitially, which was tutoring
center for kids and then I endedup moving to the higher ed
division. It is no longer, butit was a career technical
college and we were primarily amedical school. And when I first
moved to California, I was inthis rotational program training
new campus presidents. And so Igot to learn everything about
(04:24):
the business and the educationalaspects and accreditation.
And so after that, I got, I wasput at, the Chula Vista campus
as director of operations andeventually the Vista campus,
which is where I met you as thecampus president. And so I I I
loved that job. We had a we hada great staff. We had really
good student outcomes. The thingI was most most proud of, I
(04:47):
would say, is our nursingprogram.
We had a really successfulnursing program. There was 1
year where 100% of our, studentsthat we accepted not only
graduated, they also passed theNCLEX. And so, you know, I think
career technical educationschools, a lot of times, get a
bad rap for student outcomes,and I was very proud of the
student outcomes we had at thatschool. And it was it was fun.
(05:07):
We had about a 100 employees and6 to 800 students at any given
time.
Nice. Yeah.
Bret (05:13):
That was a fun time when, we got to know each other there
because, you guys were hostingour monthly rising star of the
month breakfast
Laura Pitts (05:21):
Mhmm.
Bret (05:21):
At Kaplan and which was great. We would, bring our our
rising stars to your campus, andand, it was a really fun, way of
you guys supporting that and usexposing kids to Kaplan. You
know? That campus, of course,prior to being Kaplan had been,
like, National University and, Idon't know, like Merrick
(05:44):
College. College.
And so so it was good. We wereable to bring kids and let them
know what what you guys were upto, and got to interact with
some of your students that waytoo. But then, as all things do,
things change Yep. And thingsmove on. And, I came here to
Carlsbad at the very beginningof 2019, and you came to the Ed
(06:08):
Foundation in 2020.
Mhmm. Tell us about that.
Laura Pitts (06:12):
Yeah. I came I'm you came in 2019. I didn't
realize that you I came veryshortly after. I came in
December of 2019.
Bret (06:18):
Okay. So Oh, yeah. So I it was January. Yeah. So Yeah.
Basically the same year.
Laura Pitts (06:22):
Yeah. So we, Kaplan closed. So we we had been we had
been Brightwood College at thetime. We'd been sold to a norm
another organization, and thethe school closed. And, that was
it was a really awful experiencejust Yeah.
Closing our doors on thestudents and the staff and, that
had happened to a number of ourcompetitors as well. And so I
just I wanted to do somethingnew. And so I I looked into all
(06:44):
sorts of different areas inhigher ed, as well as nonprofit,
and I had I had not worked in anonprofit before. But I ended up
reaching out to you for for somehelp and getting my foot in the
door here. So maybe maybe you'repartly responsible, which
Bret (06:57):
is great.
Laura Pitts (06:57):
I can give you some credit.
Bret (06:58):
I'll take it. But
Laura Pitts (07:00):
I was hired to run the earned income, side of our
organization, which was, again,something I was really familiar
with with my business backgroundand, that's kind of running the,
the kids care and after schoolenrichment. And there was a
leadership transition, and thiswas a a good path for me to to
take over as CEO.
Bret (07:17):
Yeah. Very nice. Of course, you came in in, what'd
you say? December 2019. Which,of course, all of us know means
3 months later, the worldchanged.
Right. Yep. Had to have beenkind of fun. You thought you
knew what you were gettingyourself into?
Laura Pitts (07:34):
I did. It was definitely difficult, supporting
working families in a pandemicthat did after school care was
definitely a challenge. Andthat's
Bret (07:43):
a good point that we're gonna pause right here because I
wanna get into that story injust a second. So we are talking
to Laura Pitts, the CEO of theCarlsbad Educational Foundation.
And stick with us. We'll beright back. When we come back,
we're gonna talk more about whatthe Ed Foundation does in their
programs and how you can getinvolved.
So stay with us. We'll be rightback. So, Laura, before the
(09:05):
break, we were just starting toget into, your current role of
the Ed Foundation, and let'sjust pretend there might be
somebody listening to this who'snever heard of the Carlsbad
Educational Foundation. So telleverybody what you guys do, and
how you operate, and then we'llkinda get into some of your
programs and fundraising andetcetera.
Laura Pitts (09:26):
Sure. So I can kinda start at the beginning.
We've been around since 19eighties, and this is an
organization that was created byconcerned parents, and they
initially wanted to fundraisefor a variety of things. 1 was a
library, to just help supporttheir students when where
funding gaps existed. And so,fast forward to today, the
(09:47):
organization has evolved in a avariety of ways.
We're a very very largeorganization and our funding
priorities are to supportstudents in music, STEAM, which
is, like, science, technology,engineering, arts and
mathematics, as well as music,and then just general education
innovation. So things that thedistrict might wanna do, but
(10:07):
they don't have, the rightfunding to to pilot something
or, you know, something that ateacher an idea they have that
might be considered innovative,we like to to help push the
envelope on those types ofeducational opportunities. And,
we fundraise in a variety ofways and we're very unique at
Foundation in the fact that, atsome point in our history, we
took over the before and afterschool care program for our
(10:29):
district. And so families, areable to receive childcare
on-site that we provide. So wehave a large staff.
We have almost, you know, Iwould say about 80 employees
that work in our childcareprogram and it's a licensed
career a licensed program sofamilies can feel confident that
their kids are safe afterschool. And all of the proceeds
that we make in that in thatprogram help to fund some of the
(10:51):
vital programs that we do,within the school day. And so,
we engage with teachers andfaculty and staff and
administration to figure outways that we can best support
the district. We're primarilyhere to create, programs that
will be experienced districtwide. So unlike a PTA that's
gonna be raising specificallyfor their school site, all of
(11:12):
our programs, we look throughthe lens of how can we improve
the general educationallandscape for all kids in the
district.
So, for example, if we're gonnafund science supplies at one
school, we're gonna do, youknow, a per student kind of
uniform funding for all schools.And so, in general, we're just
we're here to be, a helpful armof the district to really
(11:33):
improve the educationalexperience for all students.
Bret (11:37):
That's great. And I think you said it, but, just to
clarify, I mean, you guys workspecifically with Carlsbad
Unified School District becauseI know some of our Carlsbad
residents, are in differentschool districts. Mhmm. And you
guys are, specifically charteredto help with the Carlsbad
Unified specifically, which isgreat. Yep.
(11:57):
And are your after and beforeschool day care programs, are
they on every site?
Laura Pitts (12:04):
They're on every elementary school site, so
there's 9 of them.
Bret (12:07):
Okay. Excellent. And, you guys give a lot Mhmm. Of money.
I mean, it's it's impressive.
And, you know, I've hadexperience with some other
educational foundations, and, Iknow you you probably interact
with Ed Foundations all over thecountry, but, at least in my
(12:31):
little neck of the woods, theamount that you guys give is,
it's Yeah. Light years beyondwhat I've seen. So I saw just
some stats on your website,like, this year alone, this
school year, over 1,500,000 thatyou guys have given, to schools.
And, there was something about awas it it was a new something
(12:54):
new, some teacher thing
Laura Pitts (12:55):
Teacher grant.
Bret (12:56):
That you'd given $50,000.
Laura Pitts (12:58):
Talk about that. Yeah. So we did I will start
with this year. It's 1,500,000is the budget. It's and change.
Bret (13:04):
There's a little bit more of
Laura Pitts (13:05):
that, that we've got available in our budget to
give. And, the majority of thoseprograms, were these district
wide programs. And Mhmm.
Bret (13:12):
What
Laura Pitts (13:12):
we were finding was at the elementary level, it's
really easy to provide a similarexperience to all schools
because you just, you know, outall if you wanna do, again,
music supplies or sciencesupplies or field trips, you
just look at how many kids thereare. Everybody all the schools
are doing something fairlysimilar, so it's pretty easy to
give uniform funding. What washappening at secondary, which is
(13:32):
the middle school and highschool, is there are a lot of
nuances at the differentschools. Especially at the 2
high schools, there's a lot ofclasses that are offered at Sage
Creek that are not offered atCarlsbad, and it just felt like
sometimes that there the equitypiece that we were seeking to,
like, make sure that each of theschools are getting something
similar didn't exist at the highschool at at times. And so our
(13:53):
thought was if we could come upwith a teacher grant program, it
would do a couple of things.
One, it would provide anopportunity for all teachers to
to ask for money and to helpfund some of their programs that
they're really excited about. Italso would help us build better
relationships with teachersbecause, you know, if you're a
teacher that's funding, you maybe grateful for it. But if you
didn't ask for it, sometimesyou're not able to use it in a
(14:15):
way that is as impactful asyou'd want when you've got this
other idea in
Bret (14:18):
your head. So That's yeah. That makes sense.
Laura Pitts (14:20):
Yeah. So by launching the teacher grant
program, again, we market itdirectly to teachers and
administrators, but the thegrants came directly from the
teachers. And, we didn't haveany idea what we were gonna get.
Yeah. We've not done it before.
But we got some really, reallyneat requests. And, we we
launched it in the fall, and weturned it around very quickly
because we wanted the teachersto have the money this year. So
(14:43):
we had a very small window. Weopened it up. We got a lot of
requests, and we were able tofund about 75% of the requests
we were able to fund, but I cantell you about some of the
programs if you wanna hear aboutsome of the specifics.
I love it. Let's go. Yeah. So,again, our our funding
priorities are music, steam, andeducation innovation, and we
accepted grants that were fromany neck of the woods in the
(15:04):
district, but that was kind of,you know, we're gonna give extra
weight to those programs. Sure.
And, so I would say the most theunique one that we funded that
felt that we hadn't funded inthe past, we got a request for,
PE heart rate monitors for SageCreek High School.
Bret (15:19):
Okay.
Laura Pitts (15:19):
And PE is not within our funding priorities.
We don't typically fundsomething like that. But it was
heart rate monitors. It was away for them to to really figure
out how to motivate students andto identify, like, you know,
some students, like, if they runa lap, that's a big deal for
them. That might be a big dealfor their health.
Like, that that and others arethat doesn't do anything for
them. So the heart rate monitorallows them to give some
(15:40):
feedback. And so it it was arequest that our board and our
committee for this grant,thought was really cool, and so
we funded that. And it was greatbecause the teacher immediately
they've already started usingit. They're, you know, they're
putting up stuff for us onsocial and showing us some of
the ways that they're they'reexcited about that grant, and so
it was just a really cool way toinfuse technology into PE.
(16:02):
I love that.
Bret (16:03):
I mean, like you were saying, it's a I love giving the
teachers a way to try and fundtheir own creativity, their own
innovation. You know, youmentioned yeah. You might be
grateful if you, you know, gotsome supplies for this or that.
But if it wasn't something youspecifically asked for, you
(16:25):
know, versus as you just pointedout, somebody gets an idea and
they they wanna they can see it.That's tangible.
It's like, oh, this would be socool if we could do this or if
we had a way to do that, andthen you guys fund it. Oh,
that's amazing. Mhmm.
Laura Pitts (16:39):
Yeah. Love it. And another one I'll share, we had
several requests forwhiteboards. And when we first
read the first, like, version ofjust reading the request, it
sounded kind of boring if I'mbeing honest. Yeah.
And but then we started reallydigging into, like, why do the
teachers want this? And severalteachers, the math the entire
math department at Sage Creekwrote a grant as well as an
English class at Carlsbad High.And we started really looking
(17:00):
into it, but it's just awhiteboard, which again doesn't
sound all that innovative.Right. But what the whole point
was was you're kinda likeflipping the classroom.
So you're getting kids up. It'smore collaborative. You're
you're you all are looking atsomething with the same,
orientation versus if we'resitting across from each other,
the orientation's to me and notto you. And so I had a chance,
(17:20):
to see again some pictures ofthe the classrooms that have
been using this. And it's justlike all the kids are standing
up and they're just superengaged.
And I just thought it was reallyinteresting, and it's a good
example of we have greatteachers in this district. And
when you're able to give them Imean, that was not even a very
expensive grant. When you'reable to provide these materials,
it really changes and invigor itinvigorates the teacher and it
really changes theirenvironment, and it's just
(17:41):
better for students. So it itwas it was really cool. We're
gonna do the teacher grantprogram hopefully annually.
This year, we're going to, openthe window in, like, April, May
so teachers can ask for it forthe following fall early enough
that we can let them know andnotify them in, like, June so
they know going into summerwhat's what their funding is
gonna look like for the nextschool year.
Bret (18:02):
That's amazing. Yeah. I really I really think that what
you hit on there were havingrequests generated directly from
the boots on the ground, andthen you guys helping to fund
that is so wonderful andimpactful. I know you've
mentioned it, and, I know fromworking with you guys, music is
(18:26):
a big passion. So, tell us Iknow I I read it already, but
tell our audience Yeah.
What you guys do for thedistrict when it comes to music.
Laura Pitts (18:35):
Music funding is so awesome. So we provide funding
for t k through 12th grade inmusic, and there's a variety of
things we do in the middle inthe middle and high school
space. For a long time, we'vebeen funding, coaches, repairs,
and instruments. So some of theschools will have, a secondary
teacher that would a coach thatcomes in to help with just
overall instruction of music.Also musical instruments are
(18:58):
really expensive.
Yeah. And so we help pay forthose instruments. The repairs
are expensive. And so that'sjust something that we've been
doing for a long time. In theelementary space, last year was
the 1st year that we were ableto do this, but we were able to
take funding that was newfunding that the state had
provided, for the schools.
And then but it it fell short toallow, the funding that they
(19:19):
really needed in the elementaryspace. So then we were able to
combine the school funds withour funds and afford full time
music teachers. And that was thefirst time that maybe ever that
they've they've had full timemusic certainly in the last 20
years is what I've been told.And I can tell you and I've I've
shared this with, with othersbefore, but my kids go to
Calavera Elementary School andthe the change I've seen on the
(19:41):
campus with having a musicprogram was profound. So I
before Way to Music Teacher, Iwould go to our assemblies and
there would be a handful ofparents that would show up.
Now that we have a music teacherand we've got regular
performances from students, it'slike there's hundreds of people
that show up for theseassemblies. And, just even I
shared this at the school boardmeeting this last week. I got a
(20:03):
message from PAC RIM's t PacificRoom Elementary's music teacher
and same thing. Like, theythey've been doing these great
performances. I think it'shappening at all the schools.
We're just and it's bringing thewhole community in. And students
are excited. My my kid, is notan overly musical human, and
he's in choir. And it's justlike and he's cool. He's a
again, he's a 3rd grader, andit's just like now he's, like,
(20:24):
singing around our house.
And so Yeah. It's just it's neatto see how music kinda taps into
a different part of kids, youknow, being and
Bret (20:31):
And brain and brain development. And So
Laura Pitts (20:35):
and and before, the schools had music teachers, but
when they're part time and it itjust it was hard for them to
Yeah. Some some were great, butthen other times, schools didn't
have any at all. So it's it'sdefinitely been
Bret (20:45):
a big, profound change. Yeah. That's fantastic. I'm
coming from a family of, kids inthe arts. I'm like, yep.
Laura Pitts (20:53):
Mhmm.
Bret (20:53):
You're on the right path. Yep. Yeah. Those are really good
things to to have in ourschools. So, you got one of the
ways besides your, before andafter school care program, which
is your bread and butter, butyou also have an annual gala.
Yes. And, by the time peoplehear our conversation, it
(21:16):
actually probably won't be thatfar till
Laura Pitts (21:18):
Okay.
Bret (21:18):
Gala time. So tell us about, your gala and what you
think you have on tap for 2025's gala.
Laura Pitts (21:25):
Yeah. So we it's we are so excited to talk about 20
25's gala. It's gonna be great.This will be our 4th annual gala
we've run. We have consolidatedall of our events to 1 because
we feel like that's the best wayto use staff's resources.
And the thing that we reallylove about the gala is we're
bringing together, you know, a alot of people. We had about 600
(21:45):
in the last couple of years, sowe're hoping to have that this
year. But it's a it's a chancefor us to bring everyone
together and really celebratewhat we do, and and the hopes
are that people attend and leavereally understanding our
mission. But it's gonna takeplace, once again at Omni La
Costa, and it is on should I getthe date right? It's on May
17th, Saturday, May 17th, and wehave a band, the might mighty
(22:07):
untouchables, which are gonna bedance hits.
So it is a really, really funevent. We've got a great silent
auction. We've got a great band.Like, it's a really good fun
guest experience, but we do relyheavily on the proceeds from
that event. Because even thoughI I mentioned that we do have,
we're a very unique edfoundation, the fact that we've
got these, after school programsand things that can help raise
(22:28):
money, but we do really rely onour charitable giving as well to
make sure that we're able tofund these vital programs.
Bret (22:34):
And I will say from personal experience, your, galas
are a lot of fun. Yes. And theWe we have to kick people out.
So it is a good sign.
Laura Pitts (22:44):
Definitely, like, we're we definitely have to kick
people out.
Bret (22:47):
So it's definitely worth of people putting on their
calendar for May 17th and Yeah.And planning on, you know, get
your company to buy a table orMhmm. You know, come
individually. And then butpeople, I assume I don't like
assuming, so I'm gonna ask you,but I I assume people could just
give directly to you.
Laura Pitts (23:06):
Yeah. We, by the time this airs, our our annual
campaign will have, wrapped up,but we do, rely heavily on our,
like, just local community. Youknow, my it's my hope that we
really show people that thevalue of just participating in
philanthropic giving in general,whether it's to our
organization, which, of course,I hope. But just in general, I
think when you're givingphilanthropically, it makes you
(23:28):
feel part of the community. And,you know, people might be very
surprised to hear CarlsbadUnified School District, at
least as recent as I've heard,is the 2nd lowest unified school
district, in terms of funding inSan Diego County.
Bret (23:42):
I did not know that.
Laura Pitts (23:43):
Yeah. And the reason there's it's a
complicated formula that Icouldn't begin to explain
correctly, but I will say one ofthe main reasons is is that,
school if if you've got a titleone school, you get more
funding. Yeah. And we don't haveas many. We have a we have a
couple, but we don't have asmany.
And so what happens is whenyou're getting less funding,
there there are positions like,again, full time music teachers,
(24:04):
PE teachers, science teacher. Imean, these things are not
funded by the state and, eventhings in the middle school
level. I mean, one of the thingsI like to talk about because
it's one of our, I think,coolest programs, we provide
science supplies at the middleschool. We call it Science Lab
Supercharge, and the stateprovides under a dollar per
student for science, and we areable to, with the help of our
(24:27):
community and our businesscommunity, we're able to give
$13 a student. Nice.
And then we also give $1500 toeach school in addition to that.
So you're taking you know, ifyou've only got a dollar a
student, it really limits whatyou can do.
Bret (24:39):
You mean like a dollar per year? Yeah. That's Like, it's
not a lot of money. Nothing.
Laura Pitts (24:44):
And so when you're able to do more I mean, you go
to a science class now, andthey're they're shooting off
rockets. They're Yeah. They'redissecting cow eyes, and I I
know because we buy them forthem. So it's like, it's just
really cool hands on stuff. And,
Bret (24:58):
But it's those things that enrich it so much for the kids
Yeah. And make it tangible,meaningful.
Laura Pitts (25:03):
And And so when families, like, see that the the
challenge we really have is Ithink a lot of times, if you're
not if you're not a familythat's really paying attention
or or in the know about thisstuff, you just assume the
school's paying for it. Yeah.Because why wouldn't your school
be paying Yeah. For the musicteacher? Why wouldn't the
musical instruments be providedby the district?
And so, again, it's just there'sthere's funding gaps that the
(25:25):
district's really gotta gottabattle, and so we're here to
help with that.
Bret (25:28):
And the and the community is really helpful in in raising
those funds. And, Carlsbad isnot what we would call in San
Diego County a large schooldistrict. Mhmm. It's actually
one of the smaller Yep. Schooldistricts.
So, so I think having, you guysin there and enriching what's
(25:49):
possible is so valuable andvital. And, yeah, everybody
should be supporting you, comingto the gala, you know, just
giving directly to make animpact in these these students'
lives and the program. So and ifthey wanted to learn more and,
start investigating or startgiving, I your your website
(26:09):
would be a great place to start?
Laura Pitts (26:10):
Yep. Website would be a perfect place to start.
There's a place that just says,like, ways again, I believe it
says, like, ways to give andways to get involved. Maybe
that's what it says. There's a avariety of different ways.
And that's carlsbaded.org. Itis. Yeah. Carlsbadeded.org.
Bret (26:26):
Very cool. And I know, you know, jumping over to the
personal side of life, youmentioned your, your field
hockey, experience. You and Iwere, texting recent leagues. I
wasn't sure if you were gonnamake it today because your your
alma mater's hosting, the fieldhockey, what, final 4 or what?
Laura Pitts (26:47):
Final the NCAA final four is this in Ann Arbor,
this year on my old field.
Bret (26:51):
And We did not make it sitting here
Laura Pitts (26:53):
at this podcast with you, which I am so happy
about. But I do wish we hadrescheduled because I wish I was
Bret (27:00):
In Ann Arbor.
Laura Pitts (27:01):
Face paint today, in the snow in Ann Arbor because
it also did snow thereyesterday.
Bret (27:05):
Oh, well, I saw the last night I mean, again, by the time
people hear this, you know, youand I are sitting here in mid
November, and I saw last night,there was a NFL game in
Cleveland that was a total justlike a snowball. I mean, it was
they were playing in a fullblown snowstorm. So I can
imagine Michigan is also coatedin white this morning for
Laura Pitts (27:29):
a field. Michigan likes to bring competitors to
play in that condition becausethey're ready for
Bret (27:35):
it. So They're bred for it? Correct. Yes. I saw too, and
I know you mentioned at onepoint you had coached some field
hockey.
It looks like when you got outhere, you did a little bit at
RBV and stuff way back in Yeah.Probably before you had your own
kiddos and stuff like that.
Laura Pitts (27:49):
I did. Yeah. Yeah. I did Torrey Pines and RBV just
as a volunteer.
Bret (27:53):
Yeah. That's great. It was awesome. But now you have 2
lively boys that keep you,moving.
Laura Pitts (27:58):
I do. Yes.
Bret (28:00):
3rd grade, and what's your other one? 1st. 3rd and first.
Oh, that's great. Yeah.
Well, that'll keep you, on yourtoes to say the least. And I
believe, your husband's ateacher as well, so you guys are
really into the education thingall around. Yep. Is it high
school?
Laura Pitts (28:15):
He teaches high school. He's at Vista High
School.
Bret (28:17):
Yep. Yep. Very nice. I remember that from back in the
day. Well, thank you for allthat you do.
Again, the ED Foundation here inCarlsbad is just such a major
component of our community, and,I love, our relationship with
the the chamber and you guys.And I'm so glad to have you
(28:39):
personally in this role and,having worked together so long
before we got both got toCarlsbad. But, yeah, it's just
great. And thank you for takingthe time to come down and share
with everybody.
Laura Pitts (28:49):
You're welcome. And can I add one other thing? I
wanted to say we'd shared about,you know, the importance of
individual giving and Yeah.Engaging the community that way,
and that's extremely important.But, again, considering we're on
a podcast with the Chamber, Ialso just wanted to share, we've
got some really impactful andimportant corporate partners and
Nice.
We've got a really good supportfrom the Carlsbad community. And
I I wanted to just share this ifin case, one, to thank the those
(29:12):
that are current sponsors, butalso if there's somebody that's
looking to get involved Yes.Some of the ways that we get
involved with organizations,like ViaSat, for example, is a
great example. They host ourScience Olympiad program. They
also provide funding, but theyalso we their their employees
are our coaches.
Bret (29:29):
Nice.
Laura Pitts (29:30):
And so we've got ways that, like, for
organizations that want to buildup their employer base and,
like, we can work together tojust connect students with their
organization. Nordson is anotherexample. Like, they're a big
supporter
Bret (29:42):
of our
Laura Pitts (29:42):
robotics program. And, again, not just
financially, but their employeesare our coaches. And I I just
I'm eternally grateful for thatbecause it makes our program
better. We've got, we have 2other, like, major, I would say,
programs that are worth at leastsharing. I mean, one of them is,
Millpore Sigma.
I had mentioned the science thescience supplies in middle
(30:03):
school. I mean, they are reallyinvolved with, like, helping
with the funding for sciencesupplies as well as Thermo
Fisher comes out. Again, notonly do they help financially,
but they come out during ourscience days and help volunteer
for it. So Love it. That issomething I just wanted to make
sure I didn't forget to mentionis that we really also rely
heavily on our community here.
And, again, I've I've been toldI I don't know who said this. I
(30:25):
don't know if it was mypredecessor or where this came
from, but just like thefoundation of great communities
or great schools and and viceversa. Great schools are built
on great communities. And Ithink the more that we can work
together, we've got such a vitalbusiness community. I think
there's just so manyopportunities to kinda help
intertwine them with theeducational community as well.
Bret (30:42):
Absolutely. That's great. So, yeah, if you're hearing
about this for the first timeout there in our listening
audience, make sure you reachout to Laurie and her team at,
carls.ed.org and find out waysyou can get your company
involved and support themfinancially, come out and be
boots on the ground with them asthey impact students' lives.
Laura Pitts (31:03):
Very cool.
Bret (31:04):
That's what it's all about. Right?
Laura Pitts (31:05):
Yes. Absolutely.
Bret (31:06):
It's all about. Yeah. Very cool. Well, thanks for coming
down today. Thanks.
This was fun. Yes. Good to haveyou. Thanks for joining us today
on our Carlsbad People, Purposeand Impact podcast. If you got
value out of our episode today,please hit the follow button on
your favorite podcast app, andplease tell a friend.
Can't wait to see you next timeon Carlsbad People, Purpose, and
(31:27):
Impact.
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