The Outdoor School Returns to Shorecrest Prep

Sadly during COVID our children studied and interacted with classmates and teachers behind masks for two years. Their emotional and physical wellbeing was my inspiration for a fully functioning outdoor classroom at Shorecrest Preparatory School, which 100 years ago was founded as an outdoor school.

With the future still uncertain at the time, I felt an impetus to create a space where classes could take place outdoors without the restrictions of masks. The limitations that were created because of COVID taught us about unforeseeable limitations to growth and development. But it was also the alluring Florida climate and evidence based research on the benefits of learning outdoors that propelled the search for an unused space at the school to accommodate my vision.

Digging into the dirt, as a family, begins an exciting month of construction for the first installment. We are committed to realizing the space in full and hope that other Charger families will share in our vision for this remarkable space. Our board member Jon Kepko, with his expertise in engineering, helped on a technical level to realize our goals.

I can't wait to share the progress with everyone. Please stay tuned!

- Miko

READY, SET, GO! A Space for Reading and Imagination!

It was an honor to open a new special library and reading lounge for the students at 74th Street Elementary, a public elementary school in Pinellas County, Florida. The students celebrated by singing and showed such enthusiasm for their new special space.

I had the privilege of reading aloud one of my favorite books 'Oh the Places You'll Go' that served as an extension of my dreams for this space: to cultivate the expansive and limitless imaginations and aspirations of students. The educators and members of the Pinellas County School Board shared how access to books and the support from a special teacher who believed in them gave them the chance to realize their dreams - even as underdogs. Not unlike Dr. Ben Carson himself. It was moving to hear them express what this space would mean for kids like them.

I would like to thank everyone who welcomed us into the school and for the much appreciated gift from their students.

- Miko

The Laube Family Foundation & Carson Scholars Fund Create their 1st Reading Room in PINELLAS COUNTY

Media Alert

For Immediate Release: March 7, 2022

CARSON SCHOLARS FUND, INC.

Contact: Tammy Blazenyak, Director of Reading Rooms

Phone: 443-255-0957 ▪ Fax: 410-828-1007

Day of event: 727-893-2120 Jessley Hathaway Seventy-Fourth Street Elementary School Principal

Phone: 423-504-5636

First Ben Carson Reading Room to Open in Pinellas County Schools

St. Petersburg, FL – Through the generosity of the Laube Family Foundation, the Carson Scholars Fund (CSF) is pleased to announce the opening of the first Ben Carson Reading Room in Pinellas County Schools at Seventy-Fourth Street Elementary. On Friday, March 11 at 10:00 a.m., Seventy-Fourth Street Elementary School, located at 3801 74th Street North in St. Petersburg, will host an opening day ceremony and ribbon cutting.

The Ben Carson Reading Project is an initiative of the Carson Scholars Fund, founded by retired world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon and New York Times bestselling authors Dr. Ben Carson and his wife, Candy. The purpose of the Ben Carson Reading Project is to create a literacy-enriched environment for children to enhance their reading skills. The reading project is dedicated to promoting reading as a key to unlocking a child’s full potential.

The Seventy-Fourth Street Elementary reading room is sponsored by the Laube Family Foundation in honor of international businessman, William Tell Laube III. This “Reach for the Stars” themed reading room features an impressive collection of over 500 high-interest children’s books.

“The Laube Family Foundation is proud to partner with the Carson Scholars Fund, who share our values on the importance of childhood education. It is my hope that the Reading Room at Seventy-Fourth Street Elementary School will be a special space where children can explore the world through books. This investment in their imaginations now will fuel their creativity and ingenuity to advance our society in the future,” said Miko Kepko, Laube Family Foundation representative and daughter of William Tell Laube III.

Since the program’s inception in 2000, 251 reading rooms have been established, with 31 reading room locations serving students in the state of Florida.

The Carson Scholars Fund (CSF) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) public charity founded in 1994 by retired, world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin Carson and his wife, Candy. The CSF is dedicated to combating illiteracy and promoting leisure reading as a key to unlocking a child’s full potential.