IEA News: End-of-Year Giving; Academy Spring 2024 Application; and Virtual Mini-Yunasa

IEA E-Newsletter December 2023 [DONATE]( [VOLUNTEER]( [CONTACT US]( [December 2023 IEA E-Newsletter Header ]( End-of-Year Giving, Academy Spring 2024 Application, and Virtual Mini-Yunasa What a year it has been! We can’t believe we are wrapping up 2023 programming and our 25th Anniversary. Our end-of-year giving is going strong, Academy applications for Spring 2024 are live, and our partnership with Pasadena Unified School District is building toward the Innovation Exposition! We also have some exciting upcoming events, including our Holiday Open House tomorrow and our Virtual Mini-Yunasa on January 20th! 2023 END-OF-YEAR GIVING . ​​​​​[3 Caroline D. Bradley Scholars smiling at the Institute for Educational Advancement's 25th Anniversary Gala. Text below reads "Celebrating 25 Years of Guiding and Connecting Curious Minds" in large white font. Below, in small, bold, red text reads "Connecting Bright Minds; Nurturing Intellectual and Personal Growth"]( We are so grateful for the support from our amazing and generous community for helping us raise over $309,700 toward our end-of-year giving campaign. We are just 23% away from our fundraising goal of $400,000! ​​​ ​​​​ [progress bar with the red, progress section reaching 77%]( Help us close the gap and nurture bright young minds by donating by December 31st! If you haven’t had a chance to donate in honor of our milestone anniversary, consider giving $25 (or more!) in honor of 25 years. Our goal is to never turn children away due to a lack of resources. Every gift makes a difference in the life of a gifted child. [DONATE NOW!]( ACADEMY . [Academy students in an IEA classroom smiling and pensive while writing speeches. Left: Register for Spring 2024. Session Dates: January 22 to April 22 No classes on February 19, Presidents’ Day, and April 1-6, Spring Break. Apply by December 15 for an early bird discount! Tuition assistance available. Top right: Institute for Educational Advancement Academy logo.]( Academy Spring 2024 Applications are open for our Spring 2024 Session! We are offering a plethora of unique, engaging classes for students ages 6-14 including Cells Under the Microscope, World Mythology and Folklore, and Stop Motion Animation! Apply by tomorrow, Dec 15, 2023, for an early bird discount of $20 off tuition! The final application deadline is Jan 8, 2024. [APPLY FOR ACADEMY]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [IEA Holiday Open House Invitation with gold holly and pictures of Academy students in a variety of classes in ornaments on a dark red background. Friday December 15th 4-6:30pm at 540 S Marengo Ave, Pasadena CA, 91101]( Holiday Open House Reminder! Our Holiday Open House is tomorrow (Friday, December 15th) from 4-6:30 pm at our Learning Center ([540 S Marengo Ave, Pasadena, CA 91101](). We will have festive crafts, treats and mixing and mingling with other fellow bright and curious children and their families. [RSVP FOR OPEN HOUSE]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Pasadena Unified School District students building towers in Institute for Educational Advancement's Innovation Clubs][Pasadena Unified School District student building towers in Institute for Educational Advancement's Innovation Clubs] PUSD Innovation Clubs Our partnership with Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) is in full swing! We’re providing after-school Innovation Clubs for over 170 students at seven elementary schools: Longfellow, Norma Coombs, Willard, Madison, Hamilton, Jackson, and Webster. After a few weeks of building sail cars, ziplines, towers and more, students are about to start working on their projects to submit to the district-wide Innovation Exposition! This program is 100% free for public school students and IEA is the primary provider of gifted programming for PUSD! Help us sustain this program by [donating to IEA](. [DONATE HERE]( EXPLORE [Institute for Educational Advancement EXPLORE students in a Caltech lecture hall]( [Institute for Educational Advancement EXPLORE students in a Caltech lab]( We are partnering with Caltech’s Sustainable Energy Activity Lab (SEAL) for our EXPLORE program! Our EXPLORE students meet on campus at Caltech in addition to the Lab at IEA’s Learning Center. It has already been such a great experience for students to be on a college campus and we can’t wait to see what the students will research with SEAL's state-of-the-art equipment! [Learn more about the EXPLORE](s://educationaladvancement.org/programs/iea-explore/) program on our website. CAROLINE D. BRADLEY SCHOLARSHIP . [Group of Institute for Educational Advancement Caroline D. Bradley Scholars holding up their certificates]( Applications for the CDB Scholarship are open! Apply by April 10, 2024 at 8 pm Pacific Time. If you missed the Q&A webinar on December 5th, check out the recording on [our Youtube page]( to help answer any questions you may have for the CDB Scholarship Application. [APPLY FOR THE CDB SCHOLARSHIP]( YUNASA . [Institute for Educational Advancement Yunasa campers playing on inflatables in the middle of a lake on a sunny day]( Virtual Mini-Yunasa We are excited to announce that IEA will be hosting a Virtual Mini-Yunasa on Saturday, January 20th from 9am-12pm PT (12pm-3pm ET) for ages 10-16. Whether you are already part of the Yunasa community, a prospective Yunasa applicant, or would like to experience a glimpse of some Yunasa traditions, we invite you to participate in this three-hour session to connect with our community of unconditionally accepting, like-minded individuals! [SIGN UP FOR MINI-YUNASA]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Yunasa Summer 2024 Yunasa West: Ages 10-15 Yunasa East: Ages 10-14 June 8 - 15, 2024 July 13 - July 20, 2024 Apply by Jan. 29 for an early bird discount! Financial aid is available for families in need. For more information, email Issabela Tulalian at yunasa@educationaladvancement.org. [APPLY FOR YUNASA]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Want to learn more about Yunasa? If you are curious about Yunasa and have questions, we are hosting a Q&A on Friday, February 16th at 4 pm PST. Please RSVP if you are interested! [RSVP FOR YUNASA Q&A]( STAFF UPDATES . [IEA staff at Bonnie’s farewell tea party] IEA staff at Bonnie’s farewell tea party After 18 years of serving on IEA’s Caroline D. Scholarship team, Bonnie Raskin retired this month. We are so grateful to Bonnie for her tremendous contribution and dedication to IEA. She has been such a beacon of joy and support to all our CDB Scholars. When we asked Bonnie for a favorite memory from her time at IEA, she shared: "If truth be told, my memories and highlights could fill several volumes. 18 years and hundreds of Scholars, their families and their divergent paths have been more educational and rewarding for me than I could have ever envisioned back in September of 2005 when I first joined the IEA/CDB team. I will be forever grateful, energized, appreciative and heart-happy for the lives I’ve been privileged to interact and intersect with along their paths through high school and beyond. It’s been a gift that keeps on giving 😊." We thank Bonnie for everything and we will miss her so much! OUTREACH . [Institute for Educational Advancement staff and Yunasa Fellow Shelagh Gallagher standing with an NAGC marquee sign at the 2023 Annual confernece]( [NAGC 2023 Annual Conference attendees and friends of the Institute for Educational Advancement gathered to commemorate IEA's 25th anniversary]( Last month, four members of the IEA team attended the 70th annual conference for the National Association of Gifted Children in Orlando, Florida! They learned about improving equity in gifted education, serving twice-exceptional students’ needs, integrating social-emotional learning, the latest in educational public policy and much more. It was also fun to catch up with friends of IEA: Yunasa Fellows past and present, parents of CDB Scholars and Yunasa campers, and plenty of others who share our mission of supporting gifted youth! It was also exciting to see our 2019 [America Agrees: Public Attitudes Towards Gifted Education]( cited by the Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education in their presentation on advocacy efforts in gifted education. Read the report on our [interactive website]( or [download the report as a PDF](. [Institute for Educational Advancement logo] [Update Email Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe]( Institute for Educational Advancement 569 S. Marengo Ave. Pasadena, CA 91101 (626) 403-8900 [www.educationaladvancement.org](