OK, CLASS: `T' STANDS FOR `TUESDAYS,' AND ALSO FOR `TIDBITS'.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer

VALENCIA - School's back in session. Your homework assignment: Hang out at the mall.

Next week marks the return of Tapa Tuesdays, a popular fund-raiser that blends socialization and schoolwork. Money raised will benefit the Education Foundation of the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce, which awards grants to local teachers and scholarships to students from each of the area high schools.

The fun will start at 6 p.m. and will continue every Tuesday through Oct. 19. Modeled after the tapas traditions of Spain, where bars prepare small appetizers for patrons to sample as they stroll along the boulevard, Tapa Tuesdays started two years ago and has proved to be a successful fund-raiser, garnering $4,000 for the foundation in 2002 and $8,000 last year.

Organizers hope to double their profits this year by adding new elements, such as live entertainment and drawings.

Santa Clarita's version takes place along Valencia Town Center Drive, where more than a dozen restaurants will offer a variety of bite-size treats such as taquitos, bruschetta, chicken skewers, chili fries, chocolate and coffee in exchange for $1 tokens sold on the street or before the event at the Chamber of Commerce office in Santa Clarita City Hall, 23920 Valencia Blvd.

``We delayed the start in order to get more school participation,'' said Pat Willett, a foundation member and spokeswoman for the William S. Hart Union High School District. ``Now we have lots of school volunteers, teachers, parents, administrators who will be out working on the street selling tapas coins.''

Performers from area schools will be on the corners of Town Center Drive. On tap are the Hart High Sound Vibes, a choral group from Valencia High, and the Sweet Adelines group from Canyon High School.

``The money from this event becomes more important because we can no longer count on Bella Via (a street painting festival formerly held in October),'' Willett added. ``Last year, the foundation distributed $30,000 in grants to elementary and secondary schools across the valley, as well as scholarships to the various high schools.''

Foundation funding comes from three main events: Tapa Tuesdays, the Teacher Tribute dinner and Principal for a Day. Willett said grants have been used as startup funding for arts programs, to buy computers, lab equipment, musical instruments or materials for math programs. Some grants are arts-specific, others more general.

Another new facet of Tapa Tuesdays will be one nonfood store in the mall offering raffle tickets for tapas coins. A different store will be featured each week, and all tickets will be saved for a grand prize drawing in October.

``People loved it,'' Willett said. ``They stroll up and down the street for two hours and sample all sorts of things. Last year, there were some places where there were lines and people didn't mind waiting.

``It's a fun evening where you can pretty much make a meal of the tapas for very little money while visiting with your friends. We're looking forward to another year of good times.''

Carol Rock, [phone]

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com

IF YOU GO

Tapa Tuesdays, a fund-raiser for the Santa Clarita Valley Education Foundation, will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays, Sept. 14 to Oct. 19 on Town Center Drive in Valencia.

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IF YOU GO (see text)