Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) has received a $4 million donation from Newport Beach-based Irvine Co. and its chairman’s philanthropic organization, the Donald Bren Foundation, for the district’s 50th anniversary.
The donation marks a $2 million annual increase to Irvine Co.’s 20-year, nearly $50 million pledge to support arts, music and science education in IUSD, officials said.
Irvine Co.’s funding has helped IUSD establish an Excellence in Education Enrichment Fund, which aims to provide art, music and science teachers to students from fourth to sixth grade. The program, founded in 2006, has helped over 150,000 elementary students to date, according to officials.
“Thanks to community support like that of Irvine Company and its Chairman Donald Bren, Irvine students have flourished, leading the state in the arts, math and sciences,” IUSD Superintendent Terry Walker said in a statement. “This success has been achieved while many school districts have been forced to drastically cut these programs.”
