Lynbrook offers plentiful and varied tools to aid students in their learning; however, many students are often not aware that many of these tools come from charitable donations through Lynbrook Excellence in Education (LEXE). LEXE is a charity based on parent donations and is dedicated to funding projects at Lynbrook.

LEXE recently celebrated a $1 million fundraising milestone. These contributions have supplied STEM projects with equipment donations, equipment for culinary classes, audio systems for the gym and a new Mac lab for AP Computer Science (APCS), Digital Photography and Econ and Virtual Enterprising classes.

LEXE’s purpose is to promote and support excellence by supplementing the resources provided by FUHSD to further enrich Lynbrook’s educational environment. Throughout its six-year tenure, LEXE has contributed funds to programs throughout campus, from providing lab tools for STEM classes to drama equipment program funding and technology including Chromebooks and a new computer lab. These benefits, however, do not come without several challenges; one of the most difficult parts of the charity’s operations is fundraising.

“75 percent of our funding comes from parents, and 25 percent of our funding comes from corporate matches,” said Sandeep Pandya, President of LEXE.  “When parents make contributions, the corporations match that. That’s how we have raised funds so far.”

However, only 30 percent of Lynbrook families currently donate to LEXE. In the future, LEXE hopes to bring in more families as participants through increased outreach efforts, such as fund reports and brochures, as well as increased student advocacy.

“If students could be ambassadors of LEXE to parents, and tell them that ‘because of your contributions or contributions of parents like you, students have benefitted’, that would help parents understand where the funds are going and get us more support,” said Pandya.

The effects of LEXE’s efforts are seen all around campus.  Through contributions to various programs, LEXE has enabled teachers to expand their curriculum in new ways.

“Some of the software and the programs that are on [the new Macs] make it easier for students when it comes to photo editing,” said Brad Fulk, mathematics and APCS teacher. “I think the students notice a big difference as far as the software available and the performance of the computers.”

These tools have been able to support students in various ways as well.  The new computer lab is enjoyed by APCS students for programming, Photography students for photo editing and Econ and Virtual Enterprise students for running business simulations. LabQuests in Biology enable students to engage in hands-on learning, rather than simply reading from a textbook. Funding for the Drama program has unlocked students’ ability to learn about lighting and composition in conjunction with on-stage ambiance.

“As soon as you walk into [the computer lab], you can tell that it’s been remodeled,” said senior Daniel Israel. “The walls have been redone. The layout is entirely different, and there’s new computers and projectors. It’s amazing.”

LEXE will continue to expand its operations in the future; it hopes to expand the number of participating families from 30 to 50 percent and double their current yearly funds of $200,000. With more funding, LEXE will be able to keep pace with and support the infrastructure changes being made around the school in the upcoming years.

“The $200,000 or so that we are raising every year would become close to $350,000 to $400,000 with more participating families,” said Pandya. “With that kind of money, the impact that we can have on a student’s life at Lynbrook could be even more significant.”

There is much that LEXE hopes to accomplish in the coming months and years. For now, LEXE can view the fruits of their labor in the day-to-day pulse of the Lynbrook community.

“We walk down to classes to see how [LEXE] is making a difference, and seeing the smiles on students faces when they’re using some equipment, that’s the most satisfying part,” said Pandya.