Some kindergarten moms volunteer to read aloud, bake cookies or drive a group of youngsters to and from class.
But Marcy Holthus, whose children attend La Jolla Elementary School, likes to think outside the box. The flower-potting box, that is.
On her daughter’s first day of kindergarten in 2004, Holthus was asked by another parent to pull weeds from the class’ outdoor recreation area. A year of part-time gardening at the school inspired Holthus to create a long-term initiative to improve landscaping “” a three-pronged project that has since been dubbed “Bloom.”
“It was disgraceful,” the mother of two said, recalling the kindergarten yard ” an area mostly made up of concrete. “The campus is enormous and absolutely in need of so much work it breaks your heart.”
Construction for phase one of “Bloom,” an outdoor garden classroom called Kindergarten Terrace, began Feb. 7. When complete, it will serve as an area where teachers can coordinate lesson plans and a play area for students. Phase two, a Girard Street welcome plaza, is expected to kick off by the end of the school year, Holthus said.
Joined by moms Dina Buckley and Carrie Morris, Holthus created a 12-member committee in September of 2005 to raise funds for exterior improvements to the school, which will also include repainting the Marine Street side of the building during next school year and adding a playground and nature trails to the interior campus.
Two major fund-raisers, along with private donations, helped the group generate $70,000, an amount that will be matched by the San Diego Unified School District, according to Holthus. About $60,000 will be used for the kindergarten terrace project; the total project cost is estimated between $300,000 and $500,000 over the course of five years.
Although the improvements will relieve the community of an eyesore, it will also repair already existing drainage, irrigation and grading problems and will improve safety in front of the school during pick-up and drop-off hours, Holthus said.
The mothers also drew ideas from a small garden project done in 2003 at the school by landscape architect Steven Pomerenke and asked him to help design a rough sketch of the group’s vision for the school.
“It really inspired us to see what Steve could do with such a small area,” Holthus said. “It really made a difference with the children and parents, and we thought, ‘You know what? We need to do this for the entire campus.’ “
Also on board in the fund-raising process was designer Krista Percival, who designed T-shirts with the Bloom logo that were sold at several La Jolla boutiques, such as Rumors on Girard Street, and generated $10,000 in proceeds. Percival also helped with landscape design, Holthus said.
An additional fund-raiser, “La Jolla Rocks,” was held in June as a small 150-person party with live bands and pulled in about $25,000.
The overall goal of the projects is to improve pupils’ learning experiences by providing a more inspirational work environment and to make the campus more visually appealing to passers-by, according to Holthus.
Now, as the first round of improvements begins and more community members show support for “Bloom,” Holthus has realized her vision is becoming a reality.
And as her children make their way through La Jolla Elementary over the next 12 years, her only hope is that they, as well as the entire student body, are able to enjoy a school that is glowing inside and out, just as much as she enjoyed making it that way.
“The school is amazing from an academic standpoint “” fantastic staff and administration,” Holthus said. “Unfortunately, people judge a book by its cover, and we decided that we needed to put a new cover on that book.”
For more information about Bloom, visit www.ljesbloom.com or send e-mail to [email protected].