SR-11-10-2015-13C
Santa Monica Science Magnet is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
www.SantaMonicaScienceMagnet.org
Charitable Tax ID: 20-3658263
2425 16th Street
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 452-2326
(310) 452-5253 fax
November 2, 2015
Mayor Kevin McKeown and Members of the Santa Monica City Council
City Hall
1685 Main Street, Room 209
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Re: 2016 Santa Monica Science Magnet Trip to Japan
Dear Mayor McKeown, Mayor Pro Tempore Vazquez, and City Council Members:
The City of Kizugawa, Japan has been funding a prestigious cultural exchange program for middle school
students for the last 18 years. Each summer they select 12 students to travel to California. While here,
the Japanese students visit several museums, Santa Monica City Hall, the Science Magnet Summer
Institute at John Adams Middle School (JAMS) and stay with a JAMS family for a long weekend. Full
financial support of the travel expenses has allowed Kizugawa students to visit Santa Monica almost
every year since the program started. Last summer they had a wonderful visit, and we much
appreciated Mr. McKeown attending our welcome BBQ at Clover Park to welcome them all to Santa
Monica.
For the past four summers, we have sent JAMS Science Magnet students to Japan and we are
committed to maintaining this valuable educational and cultural experience for our students. This
Exchange Program is a wonderful opportunity for our middle school students to experience other
cultures and broaden their horizons. One of the most difficult things is finding a group from another
part of the world that wants to participate in an exchange program. We are blessed with an 18 year
relationship with the City of Kizugawa and we can now say that this is now a true exchange program.
The City of Kizugawa is interested in establishing a Sister City Relationship with Santa Monica to show
their long-term commitment to this program. Support from the City of Santa Monica will help us keep
this momentum going.
As you know, the John Adams Middle School is an amazing socio-economically diverse school, where
approximately 50% of our student population benefits from free or reduced fee lunch. To maintain our
values of free access to education for all students, this trip to Japan is open to all students in the Science
Magnet, regardless of financial ability to pay. The cost for the trip is approximately $3000 per traveller.
The Santa Monica Science Magnet is a 501(c)3 non-profit parent association. We are a parent-volunteer
association that raises funds to support the two year Science Magnet program for 7th and 8th grade JAMS
students who demonstrate a significant interest in the sciences. The Santa Monica Science Magnet has
allotted $3650 to support this exchange program this year - $3000 of which will be used to send one
JAMS Science Magnet teacher to accompany the students, and provide educational support throughout
the trip. All other parent chaperones pay for their own travel expenses, and student with the financial
means to pay also pay their full fare. The remaining $650 is used to provide hospitality support to the
Santa Monica Science Magnet is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
www.SantaMonicaScienceMagnet.org
Charitable Tax ID: 20-3658263
2425 16th Street
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 452-2326
(310) 452-5253 fax
Kizugawa team when we are with them in Japan, and also to host that BBQ when they come to Santa
Monica.
In the past (2012, 2013), the City of Santa Monica has generously extended grants to support this trip to
defray the cost for all travellers. However, going forward, we would like to secure support from the City
of Santa Monica to provide financial assistance to our students in need, to help underprivileged students
in our school community access this wonderful trip. We are committed to this Exchange Program being
sustainable, and it cannot be sustainable unless it is accessible to all students in our Science Magnet.
Last year we were not able to secure such funding from the city, and our Principal Mr. Steven
Richardson graciously provided $7500 from the JAMS general fund to support 3 students to attend the
trip. The students and their families were so grateful, and the experience was life-changing.
This year, we would like to respectfully request that the City of Santa Monica provide us with a
financial grant of $7500, to be used for financial assistance for student travellers with demonstrated
financial need, and who would not be able to attend the trip without support. We are currently in the
process of receiving and reviewing applications for the Summer of 2016 trip, and we need to know if we
can offer financial assistance to our students with demonstrated financial need financial.
Our current trip plans are to leave around June 29, and the travelling students will visit Tokyo, Mt. Fuji,
Kyoto/Kizugawa and Osaka during their 12 day trip. The traveling students are ready to step into their
role as ambassadors of the City of Santa Monica, and will again be meeting the mayor of Kizugawa
during their trip. We would be delighted if they could bring the Sister City Status to Kizugawa on this
trip!
Please feel free to contact me for any additional information you may need to fully consider our request.
Thank you for your time, consideration and support!
Sincerely,
Mudita Bahadur
Santa Monica Science Magnet
Japan Exchange Coordinator
SMSMjapan@gmail.com
Cell: 310-463-7913
cc: Steve Richardson, Principal, John Adams Middle School
Sandra Lyons, SMMUSD Superintendent
Yunilda Esquivel, President, Santa Monica Science Magnet