Preuss School Supporters Turn Out
to Help Give Students Much Needed 'Ride'

By Pat JaCoby I November 22, 2004

Sporting lettermen jackets were Peggy and Peter Preuss, for whom the Preuss School is named, and Anne Evans, right, sponsor of the Preuss School benefit held at the Evans Antique Car Garage, a private family-owned car museum.

Cecil Lytle, center, chairman of the Preuss School Board of Directors, with UCSD Chancellor Marye Anne Fox and her husband, Jim Whitsell.

Dubbed "king and queen of the prom," Renee and Duane Roth served as co-chairs of the Preuss School benefit.

Pink flamingoes and poodle skirts. Lettermen sweaters and Pink Velvet cocktails. The 50's were in abundant evidence as the Preuss School held its second annual "Classic Cars for Classic Kids" benefit at the Evans Antique Car Garage Nov. 12.

Underlying the rock n' roll, 50's games and acts from "Grease," was a serious objective: to raise funds for school buses or, as Duane Roth, president of the Preuss School Founder's Circle, put it, "giving these kids a ride who have gone through so much to get there (Preuss School)."

And many of the 150 attendees responded, with $321,500 raised for the buses out of a goal of $375,000. Donald Stump, Preuss School director of development, hopes others will step forward to help with the remaining $53,500. The evening's fund-raising had a unique spin as buses were shown on a large screen and every time $25,000 for one bus was raised, it would drive away and a new bus pull up.

Funding for the buses is necessitated by state and local budget cuts which forced the San Diego Unified School District to eliminate its support for bus transportation. More than 90 percent of Preuss School students rely on bus transportation from distant neighborhoods such as San Ysidro, Chula Vista and Spring Valley to reach the La Jolla campus.

Participants joined in the 50's theme, with Peggy and Peter Preuss - for whom the school is named - sporting lettermen jackets, and Anne Evans, who sponsored the event at her family-owned car museum, decked out in poodle skirt and blouse. The "Garage" houses a world-class collection of classic and antique cars and motorcycles as well as other rare antiques and period pieces. A gleaming red Thunderbird fit right into the 50's mood, contrasting to the museum's oldest car, an 1896 Benz.

The clever table centerpieces included replicas of Look and Life magazines, Nehi sodas, Elvis 45 records, and the era's cat-like dark glasses.

Duane and Renee Roth, in 50's looks of blue jeans and swing skirt, event co-chairs (dubbed "king and queen of the prom") opened the program, introducing speakers Doris Alvarez, principal of the Preuss School, and Marye Anne Fox, UCSD chancellor.

Pianist Kendro Calica, an award-winning 2004 graduate of the Preuss School now attending UCLA, performed Liszt' Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12, and 15 members of the Preuss School Honors Choir performed rollicking song and dance numbers from "Grease."

Members of the Preuss School Honors Choir performed a number of songs and dances from "Grease" at the Nov. 12 event, held to raise funds for school buses.

The Preuss School is a middle and high school dedicated to providing an intensive college preparatory education for motivated low-income students who will become the first in their families to graduate from college.

Jointly chartered by the San Diego Unified School District and UCSD, the school opened in 1999 with 150 students in grades 6-8. Currently there are 767 students in grades 6-12. The class of 2004 was the Preuss School's first graduating class. Ninety percent of the graduates were admitted to four-year universities and 22 percent to UCSD. Ten Preuss students were accepted at private colleges such as Stanford, NYU, Spellman, Claremont-McKenna, Dartmouth and MIT.