The Freemasonry tradition celebrates service to the local communities it operates in. One of the cornerstones of the foundation is a commitment to education. In fact, some of the earliest public schools in America were started by the organization. The California’s Masonic Student Assistance Program is an example of one of the many organization’s endeavors in the community geared toward excellence in public education. This charitable trust was established in 1970, and to date, it has been responsible for helping thousands of students in their academic efforts.
The California Masonic Student Assistance Program provides extensive training to teachers. The organization is dedicated to the improvement of the public education system and it believes in helping prepare the teachers for success in the classroom. The California Masonic Student Assistance program offers three-day workshop to education professionals. The workshop provides training to teachers, which assists teach professionals in identifying potentially at-risk students. The goal is to improve retention rates for students by helping teachers identify the students most at risk for dropping out at an earlier age. Programs like the California Masonic Student Assistance Program are conducted in various states throughout the United States.
The California Masonic Student Assistance Program also operates a scholarship program. The program is designed to help students with the soaring costs of higher education. In recent years, the organization has award approximately $5 million in scholarships to eligible students throughout California. The outstanding high school seniors that are awarded these scholarships perform community service and maintain an excellent academic record throughout their academic career. In addition to academic achievement and community service, need is also considered in this program. Most scholarship award recipients receive funding within the range of $40,000 to $50,000 in aid over the four years of attendance.
The outreach efforts of the California Masonic Student Assistance Program also include fingerprinting and photo identification for school children. The Masonic program supports the kid safety efforts through the student KIDS ID program. This program is funded by the California Masonic Student Assistance Program and the services are completely free to interested parents. The program has shown tremendous success since it began in 1998. Over the years, the program has successfully assisted 350,000 children obtain fingerprints and photo identification for children of all ages.
The California Masonic Student Assistance Program is one of the outreach programs offered in various communities throughout the state. Its goal is to assist public education initiatives in California communities through teacher training, outreach to at-risk students, scholarship program and child safety.