Cougars to Courtside - Building the Future of NCMS Athletes (2026-2027)
At Nellie Coffman Middle School, we believe every student deserves a fair shot, not just in the classroom, but on the court. The "Cougar Excellence Initiative" is our effort to bring that belief to life by modernizing our campus athletic resources in a way that reaches all of our students, from the first bell of the school day through the final whistle of our after-school basketball program. By bringing in two basketball shooting machines and game-quality basketballs, we're giving our students something they haven't had before: a real training environment, right here in their own school. Once the school day ends, the equipment becomes the cornerstone of our after-school basketball program, ensuring that students have a safe, structured, and well-equipped space to develop their skills. And in May 2027, 100 of our students and supervisors will get to see where that work can lead, with an inspirational trip to a WNBA Sparks game in Los Angeles. We want our Cougars to know that the path from this gym to that court is real, and we're committed to walking it with them.
Contact: Joe Barrow
Email: jbarrow@psusd.us
Replace Aging Band Instruments for Enhanced Performance (2025-2026)
This proposal seeks funding for the acquisition of new musical instruments to enhance the quality of music education and performance in our institution. Our current inventory is outdated and insufficient to meet the needs of our growing student body. By securing this grant, we aim to provide students with access to high-quality instruments that will enrich their learning experience and elevate our program's overall standard.
Contact: Arquin Abaya, Director of Bands
Email: aabaya@psusd.us
Choir Chairs & Uniforms (2019-2020)
"If You Build It, They Will Come" is a project to continue to strengthen the very essence of a solid choral music program-- having the proper chairs, quality uniforms and the music literature itself!
It's comical, but the chairs we currently have are really designed for elementary school-aged students. In fact, some of the students don't "fit" in the chairs because the chairs are too small for some of my 7th and 8th graders. A purchase of 75 ergonomically designed chairs that promote good posture for singing would be a fantastic step toward the ideal scene I'm trying to build. Additionally, we've been singing the same pieces of music, rotating it over and over for the past 6 years! There are only 2 small file drawers of sheet music that have been accumulated during my 6-year tenure.
Out of necessity, classes have to share the music and students are not allowed to take home the music, which is essentially our textbook. We also need quality music folders to store the sheet music that is issued for the use of each student. We currently have ragged, tattered folders. A portable sound system is also a needed piece of equipment so we can continue to promote all the good work that our choral students do. It would be awesome to have our students sing during the lunch hour once a month if we had a portable system.