Surrounded by district administrators, foundation supporters and school-board members, Northshore Schools Foundation Co-Presidents Karissa Webster and Kristin Austin recently presented a check for $32,760 to Northshore School District Superintendent Larry Francois and School Board President Dawn McCravey in support of the district’s educational program. The funds were granted after a districtwide granting process which identified district needs that aligned with foundation funding initiatives of literacy; advanced and disadvantaged learners; teacher excellence; science, technology, engineering; and enhancement programming. Funds from the grant will be directed to four key projects over the next school year:

• $20,000 for classroom libraries for new teachers in the district to support the district’s elementary literacy curriculum adoption;

• $6,260 for the McKinney Vento program, which has experienced a significant cut in state and federal funding and provides support for homeless students;

• $5,000 partial grant for the Community Schools Program, which provides funding for an after-school Hang Time program and Natural Leaders program at four junior high schools; and

• $1,500 in addition to the $6,000 funded earlier in the year for teacher scholarships for the University of Washington program to support National Board Certification.

“It’s exciting to see how the donations of so many people can be combined for this kind of impact. These dollars are touching students throughout the district, kindergarten through seniors, in the classroom and beyond school time,” said Carmin Dalziel, executive director of the foundation.

The annual Fall Kick Off, held at and sponsored by the Hollywood Schoolhouse, featured entertainment by Geoffrey Castle and provided an opportunity to meet foundation boardmembers and previous grant recipients. This granting process is one of three ways the foundation provides funding support for the Northshore School District. In spring of last year, the foundation granted $6,000 of additional support for the National Board Teacher Certification process and over $14,200 in classroom grants for innovative program ideas.

Having addressed many of the other priorities, the foundation is now turning its attention to raise funds for its STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) initiative, which has been identified as the focus of its upcoming Calling for Kids Campaign. The campaign runs during the month of October and is looking for volunteers to help at the phone bank.