MCAGCC — Students at Condor Elementary School will be able to look forward to more enrichment programs, from music and art to a Spanish Club, thanks to a $15,000 check from California State Treasurer Fiona Ma.

Ma came to the elementary school campus Wednesday, May 29, to present students and staff with the check, earned when the school took top honors in an online vote.

The money was funded through ScholarShare 529, California’s official 529 college savings plan, which is dedicated to ensuring that students are well-positioned to succeed academically.

The program supports families saving for higher education. The ScholarShare 529 Scholar Dollars award program funds public school programs that enrich students’ experiences.

Condor Elementary applied for the Scholar Dollars Program through ScholarShare 529 in March.

The award program was voter based, and Condor garnered enough votes to tie or first place in their size category.

With 5,824 votes, Condor tied with Placer Elementary School in Loomis, Soto said. Voting, she noted, took place over the course of ten days in the early Spring.

“Our parents had to vote for our campus on a daily basis,” Soto said. “We pushed it out through social media. We asked out parents to push it our to their friends.”

The grant help Condor create extracurricular programs that promote college as an educational goal.

“We are looking at more enrichment support,” Soto said, adding that programs including music and art, science and technology and foreign language education, will likely be coming to the campus in the fall.

Soto said she was “super excited” to get the funding.

“I know we have been trying to provide more for our kiddos,” she said.

She added that the students have been excited about the process, going home every day to see of their parents have put in their votes for the school.