BASIC Borrego Springs: Supporting Students from Cradle to Graduation
BASIC Borrego Springs began by helping local children learn to fly. Today, its educational support starts before children can read and continues through college and vocational training. In this isolated California desert community, BASIC brings books into young children’s homes, offers a summer Learning Academy, and awards scholarships that help residents begin and continue their education.
BASIC’s commitment to helping students through successive stages of their education makes it a fitting recipient of a Kars4Kids small grant. Its “Cradle to Graduation” approach addresses the points where students can fall behind or find their next step out of reach. Programs combine academic instruction with practical help, including free meals during summer learning and larger scholarships for continuing students facing the costs of living and studying away from home.
We put some questions to Joann Stang, BASIC’s longest-serving board member, about the organization’s unexpected beginnings and its work supporting generations of Borrego Springs students.
Kars4Kids: An airport and a child’s education might seem like two very different causes. How did a group working to improve Borrego Springs’ airport end up helping its students?
Joann Stang: Yes, the founders of BASIC began by running the Borrego airport AND teaching the children of Borrego Springs to fly airplanes. BASIC provided scholarships and the academic and practical education for students to learn to fly an airplane and get a general aviation license. So scholarships were an important part of BASIC, and that has continued until the present. The burden of running an airport was greater than the resources of a nonprofit organization, so that became a commercial endeavor, while the nonprofit BASIC continued as a scholarship organization. BASIC now provides educational support through a variety of programs, including scholarships, to help Borrego residents achieve their goals and reach their potential.
Kars4Kids: For readers who have never visited Borrego Springs, can you describe the community?
Joann Stang: Borrego Springs is a very isolated desert community about 90 miles from San Diego and totally surrounded by the 600,000-acre Anza-Borrego State Park. There are fewer than 4,000 permanent residents and only 340 students in the school district.
Kars4Kids: What is it like to grow up there, and what opportunities can be harder for local children to access?
Joann Stang: For young people, there is no movie theater, no shopping mall, and no electronics supply store—no places where young friends might gather. Because of low family incomes, most children seldom leave the community; most have not seen the ocean just several hours away. In the summer, children do not have access to enrichment camp experiences. Borrego families are very hardworking and want the very best for their children, but many of the opportunities for exposure and enrichment outside of school are just not available in the community.
Kars4Kids: BASIC describes its approach as “Cradle to Graduation.” Can you give us an overview of how the programs fit together as a child grows?
Joann Stang: Yes, BASIC’s programs are integrated and focused on support at the known junctures where educational development might “run off the track.” Children from birth to age 5 participate in the free Dolly Parton Imagination Library program. They receive a book a month delivered to their home address. Children who have books in the home and who are read to on a regular basis do better when they enter school. BASIC also works with parents to help them understand the importance of reading in child development. Children in the school’s transitional kindergarten (TK) class participate in the BASIC after-school Reading Club. This weekly program focuses on interactive literacy activities to strengthen alphabet knowledge, vocabulary, listening comprehension and oral language. Each summer, our Learning Academy gives students additional support and experience in the areas of reading and math. Learning Academy is a 4-week, full-day program providing over 100 hours of instruction, all totally free to families. Children also receive nutritious breakfasts and lunches. Classes are small and led by a qualified teacher and teaching aide. This past summer, there were six Learning Academy classes.
- TK and preschool
- 1st/2nd grade with emphasis on reading and math
- 2nd/3rd grade reading
- Elementary grades math
- Middle school reading and language arts
- Middle school math
BASIC supports high school seniors and families in preparing their FAFSA applications and with workshops focused on career identification and access. Our very active scholarship program provided almost $140,000 to 51 local residents this year. Scholarships support graduating seniors, and continuing students can receive even larger scholarships because BASIC understands the financial needs of students who are supporting themselves and paying for their own education.
Kars4Kids: Through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, children receive books before they’re old enough for school. How does BASIC connect families with this program?
Joann Stang: We “market” the Dolly Parton program at all BASIC and community events. Our program is now 10 years old and was the first in San Diego County. Dolly (a cutout) is frequently standing in the local library beside a table of free books and information about the Imagination Library program.
Kars4Kids: What other support do you offer to help parents nurture early reading skills?
Joann Stang: We have also presented a Latino Family Literacy program for parents to encourage and assist them in developing reading routines with their children. Our follow-up coordinator frequently interacts with parents to encourage and support them and to gather feedback about BASIC and our programs.
Kars4Kids: How are students selected for Learning Academy, and how do teachers tailor the summer’s instruction to their needs?
Joann Stang: Students are invited based on a variety of criteria that identify students who will benefit from small classes and individualized instruction. Teachers use research-based, targeted instruction to enhance basic skills, provide practice opportunities and expand academic exploration and critical thinking, in order to support and increase grade-level competency.
Kars4Kids: Can you walk us through a typical day at Learning Academy?
Joann Stang: A typical day begins at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast. The morning of instruction is interrupted by a break for a snack. Lunch is augmented by enrichment activities like educational games. The afternoon is again an instructional session. Students depart at 2:30 p.m. During the four weeks, there are some enrichment activities planned, like painting and exploration of the local environment.
Kars4Kids: What goes into selecting recipients for Start-School and Stay-in-School scholarships?
Joann Stang: BASIC has a scholarship application with criteria that focus on need and ability to achieve goals. BASIC’s Scholarship Committee reads all applications and engages applicants in interviews to select applicants to present to the Board for concurrence.
Kars4Kids: Why was it important to offer continued support after a student’s first year?
Joann Stang: The size of scholarships increases considerably after the first year because there are few scholarships in this category, student need is great, and students have proven that they have the potential to be successful in this environment. Many Borrego students receive tuition reductions, but their costs for fees, books, room, board and transportation are great.
Kars4Kids: How do you stay in touch with scholars along the way?
Joann Stang: Continuing students reapply every year, and BASIC Board members volunteer as mentors for our scholars.
Kars4Kids: What kinds of vocational training and continuing education has BASIC supported?
Joann Stang: Vocational training awards usually go to adults in the community who are retooling for a career change. We have supported cake-making school, caregiver training, and auto mechanics training as examples. We have given scholarships for professional education such as law school and qualifying for teacher credentials. These students complete scholarship applications when the submission time is open.
Kars4Kids: As BASIC’s longest-serving board member, you’ve watched these efforts develop over time. Can you share a student’s story that illustrates what the support can mean?
Joann Stang: Yes, my husband was a co-founder, and I am now the longest-serving Board member. This organization has grown tremendously from granting a few scholarships in those early years to having a strategy that supports our residents with programs at recognized critical junctures along their full educational journey—from cradle to graduation. The only one of our Learning Academy teachers who has participated in that program for the full ten years is a BASIC scholar. BASIC scholarships supported her through the granting of teaching credentials, and she has returned to give back to her community ever since.
Kars4Kids: Where would you most like to see BASIC’s programs grow next?
Joann Stang: As the organization goes forward, we will evaluate the inclusion of more early childhood support for parents. Education begins at birth, and our Borrego children should have the best support to reach their potential and achieve their goals.
