MASS Now the Marc and Eva Stern Math & Science School

Eva and Marc Stern call it their gift that keeps on giving. The Sterns are Los Angeles philanthropists drawn so strongly to the potential and mission of the Alliance’s new Math and Science School that they contributed $500,000 to support the school. As a result, the school will bear their names.

 

The Sterns’ involvement will extend beyond the naming of the school.  Naming donors for Alliance charter schools are encouraged to become actively involved in the life of the school and follow the progress toward meeting its goals.  Eva Stern is excited about that. “We want to be proactive,” she says. “My background as a clinical social worker taught me that, for adolescents, the personal attention of a small school like MASS, the sense of its purpose and promise can be life changing.”  

“We hope this contribution will set a standard,” said Mrs. Stern. “We want others to take advantage of the naming opportunity, sponsor an Alliance school, and support the impressive College-Ready mission.”

Their attraction to MASS was initially ignited by  Principal Derrick Chau. At a dinner party, he met Marc and Eva Stern. “We were so taken by his dreams for the school and the goals he described for its students, “ she recalls. The event happened to be close to their 40th wedding anniversary.  “As we walked to the car that evening, I said to Marc, ‘This is what I want to do for our anniversary. What could be better than to invest in the future of students by supporting the school!’  My husband loved the idea,” she adds.
 
In May, she and her husband were invited to lunch by the MASS 4.0 students, an elite group of honor students who thanked the Sterns for their confidence in and contribution to their school and presented them with MASS shirts.  Ninth grader Fernando Lopez spoke for his classmates when he told the Sterns that he came to MASS because he “wanted something different for his high school education.”  The group agreed that when they arrived on campus in August of 2006, they didn’t know any or many students, but had made good friends, and are eager to continue their high school opportunity at Marc and Eva  Stern Math and Science School when it relocates to the campus of Cal State Los Angeles in August.