Redwood Credit Union Supports Mike Hauser Algebra Academy with $2,500 Donation

Redwood Credit Union has donated $2,500 in support of the Chamber’s Mike Hauser Algebra Academy. This donation comes at a time when the program is increasing its student capacity. This year’s Algebra Academy will see 150 area students enrolled including 30 in Healdsburg -- to date the program has only served Santa Rosa schools.

“I believe the Algebra Academy is a great program for our youth and it helps drive their desire to graduate from high school and attend college,” said Brett Martinez, CEO of Redwood Credit Union. “I have been involved with the program since its inception and have been very impressed. When Frank Chong announced that SRJC is guaranteeing all graduates admission into the JC regardless of ability to pay, I knew that RCU needed to help make this new concept become a reality.”

Launched in 2007, the Algebra Academy was the vision of the late Mike Hauser. He understood the importance of ensuring an educated and trained workforce for the businesses in Santa Rosa and realized that, if we fail to increase the graduation rates of students for whom English is a second language, we will lose any real hope of maintaining and growing that workforce.

Since one of the key precursors for high school graduation is mastery of algebra, he reasoned that giving students for whom English is a second language a head start with a summer program that combined algebra with real world experience in local companies would help us improve that graduation rate. Now, six years later, his vision has been proved true as 60 students have participated in and benefited from the Mike Hauser Algebra Academy each year.

Programs such as the Mike Hauser Algebra Academy exemplify the Chamber's ongoing commitment to workforce development and its importance for our member businesses. Our business community's future success is dependent on the workers' skills, and the Algebra Academy is one means for the Chamber to directly and dramatically improve the skills of our future workforce.

To learn more about how you can support the Chamber making a difference through workforce development and the Mike Hauser Algebra Academy, contact Kelly Bass Seibel at (707) 545-1414 x216.