If you haven’t already seen this in our calendar – an online event tomorrow night (Thursday, December 8) offers a chance to learn about public-school funding and PTA fundraising – here’s the announcement, including how to get involved in a wider community effort even if you can’t attend Thursday’s event:

West Seattle Public School Equity Fund, a new grassroots, parent-driven equity fund, is hosting a community learning session about public-school funding and PTA fundraising with Vivian van Gelder, Advocacy and Policy Manager for SESEC (South East Seattle Education Coalition).

Founded by local public school parents Andrea Dimond, Shannon Woodard, and Kristen Corning Bedford, the West Seattle Public School Equity Fund (WSPSEF) is a community-wide effort to equitably fund our neighborhood schools, recognizing the historical impact of redlining and systemic racism continues to have on individual school PTA resources.

Last spring, the West Seattle Public School Equity Fund made its inaugural round of fundshifting across West Seattle grade school and K8 PTAs. Contributions from four PTAs in the amount of $20,916 were distributed to 5 schools across the neighborhood. The Advisory Committee is made up of parents and teachers from Concord Elementary, Gatewood Elementary, Genesee Hill Elementary, Highland Park Elementary, Lafayette Elementary, Pathfinder K8, Roxhill Elementary, Sanislo Elementary, and West Seattle Elementary. They used OSPI’s Washington State Report Card data on Enrollment of Underserved Groups and SPS Equity Tiers to make their determination.

“I loved seeing how this whole experience brought our West Seattle elementary school community closer together,” commented Andrea Dimond. “The partnership between participating schools goes beyond fundshifting, as evidenced by the recent launch of the West Seattle Elementary’s PTO, which was an effort supported by the WSPSEF Advisory Committee members through shared resources and knowledge. I’m excited that we’re on track to double our fundshifting next year as well as continue to build relationships and learn together.”

How to Participate:

Attend the learning session on public school funding and PTA fundraising with Vivian van Gelder, Thursday, December 8th, 7-8:15pm, online. All are welcome. Register here.

If you have a student at one of the West Seattle public grade schools, including K8, and would like more information about how your school can participate, please email hello@wspsequityfund.org, or reach out to your school PTA.