Long Beach Excellence in Education Foundation recognizes Mueller

Special to Long Beach Breeze

Pictured (l to r) are Long Beach School District School Board Secretary Scott Rishel, Superintendent Dr. Talia Lock, Glenn Mueller, Long Beach Excellence in Education Foundation Board member Carrolyn Hamilton and School Board members Lisa Smith and Frank Castiglia.

At a recent meeting of the Long Beach School District (LBSD) Board of Trustees, the Long Beach Excellence in Education Foundation recognized Glenn Mueller for his decades of philanthropic support of the staff and students of the school district. The Mueller family has been instrumental in the success of the Foundation, which was established in 2022, by providing a match donation challenge, which helped provide the foundation with seed money and also gave initiative for further fundraising.

Throughout the years, Mueller has served the school district, actively participating on a strategic planning committee, defining the district’s mission statement and five-year goals. He was also instrumental in assisting the school district and law enforcement several years ago, when schools throughout the country, including Long Beach, were battling a rash of bomb threats, mainly on high school campuses. Not only creating a dangerous situation for students and staff, these threats also resulted in considerable loss of instructional time. Mueller served on a newly-created task force as a community member representative. He gathered information from other parts of the country where similar issues were happening. The task force identified solutions that would help change the culture of the school.  Mueller offered an award for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators. Two people were arrested and convicted. Bomb threats went from twenty-two to zero in one year.

During the 1996-97 school year, the National Board Certification program became available for teachers. It was a rigorous process, and applying was costly to teachers.  Mueller was interested in encouraging and assisting Long Beach teachers to apply, as he felt that having teachers that met national teaching standards would benefit every child in the school district. He offered a donation to assist teachers with the upfront cost of applying for the certification.

Carrolyn Hamilton, retired LBSD Superintendent and Long Beach Excellence in Education Foundation Board Member said, “Glenn helped many programs and students during the almost three decades he worked with our district. He has always been completely unselfish in wanting to help his community. The Long Beach School District has been very blessed to have the privilege of working with him.”

Long Beach Excellence in Education Chair Kathy Cook added, “The Mueller family is the definition of community servants. They give back to our community in so many ways without fanfare. I cannot even imagine how many school and community sports and activity teams have benefited from their generosity. I would be curious to know the number of and how many thousands of dollars have been raised from the car washes alone they have allowed almost weekly at their Long Beach Domino’s location.”

Continuing his legacy of giving back to his community and in partnership with his brother Richard, Glenn Mueller opened TrainTastic, the world’s largest model train museum, located on Pass Road in Gulfport, Mississippi. The museum features a combination of model train displays, and guests can ride on a real train car as they enter a space that honors the period when trains were especially crucial to the country: the 1950s. There are numerous S.T.E.A.M.-inspired activities for both young and old that emphasize Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math to entertain visitors. For more information about TrainTastic, visit traintastic.com.

The Long Beach Excellence in Education Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit and was formed to support the LBSD by supplementing programs for staff and students. During the 2024-25 school year, the Foundation has funded five scholarships, four teacher grants and sponsored several recognition programs. The group’s efforts are funded through tax deductible donations and fundraising. For more information regarding the Foundation, visit LBExcellence.org.