Hello friends,
The Renton Schools Foundation team is pleased to present to you our first ever Mid-Year Review. The goal is to share successes from the past six months, fundraising challenges, and exciting plans for the remainder of the year, including a SAVE THE DATE to celebrate teacher grant recipients on Thursday, December 9th.
Reflecting back to September 2019 when we were celebrating our 10th year anniversary, who would have predicted what the next year and a half would bring? A global pandemic, a ten-month lockdown, families and students working and learning from home, businesses closing, employers laying off workers, and so much more.
Through it all the RSF team pivoted, keeping students in the forefront of every decision and supported in partnership with Superintendent Dr. Pattenaude and the Renton School District (RSD) team. It was a such a joy to see so many community partners come together to support students and teachers in so many ways!
As families, students, and teachers plan for all-day instruction this coming September, the RSF team is excited to return to providing STEM, Music/Arts, Literacy supports and Teacher Grants. These opportunities provide so many of our students that extra boost, keeping them engaged and dreaming of their futures.
STUDENT, FAMILY AND TEACHER SUPPORT!
Even though we have not been able to fundraise with you in person since 2019, we used our reserves and the team is very pleased to share that since this January we have been able to:
Grant the final $32,000 for student connectivity, supporting 1,300 students learning at home.
This coming school year ALL elementary students will benefit from NEW instruments in their music class and ALL 4th graders will receive their own recorder musical instrument.
ALL secondary band, choir, and orchestra students will benefit from the online music platform SmartMusic. This software was the top requested item from music teachers and students in music!
As students returned to their classroom this spring, STEM supplies were purchased for Renton Innovation Zone Schools.
Virtual CTE Summer Camp is wrapping up AND the Lindbergh Summer Shed project will begin in July.
MID-YEAR FISCAL WELLNESS
For the past year and a half all fundraising has been online. Working with Dr. Pattenaude’s team, short videos were put together allowing teachers and students to share their experiences of learning and teaching at home. We hope you watched our Virtual Day of Giving video on April 29th! It really shows the hard work and ingenuity of our teachers and students this past school year. I invite you to view the Virtual Day of Giving Video and your donation is welcome!
Last fall during budget planning and as the pandemic was growing again, the RSF team decided on a fiscally conservative goal of two thirds of our pre-pandemic budget.
To date, we have raised over $120,000. Half of this income is due to the fantastic opportunity to partner with Dale Walker and the National Subaru “Share the Love” program. To meet our 2021 conservative goal, we need to raise $55,000 in the second half of the year and more.
LOOKING AHEAD – SAVE THE DATE
On behalf of the RSF team, we are pleased to announce that starting September 1st we will be raising funds to support “Teachers Grants”. Our goal is to empower parents, community partners, and you, to donate a gift to our campaign called: “Ignite Innovation”
And we ask that you SAVE THE DATE for Thursday evening, December 9th. We are going to celebrate safely and award the Teacher Grants at the Renton Pavilion. The program will include teachers receiving their grant funds, sharing their stories, and most of all, we get to celebrate their accomplishments! In addition, the RSF team, with Dr. Pattenaude, will outline future partnerships and we hope you will be inclined to support with a year-end gift.
CALL FOR BOARD MEMBERS
RSF is seeking new board members to join our small, but mighty, team. If you are willing to roll up your sleeves, dive into supporting students through fundraising, watching over the stewardship of this organization, posting on social media, and more, please contact me!
pam.teal@rentonschoolsfoundation.org
TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY
As chair of this all-volunteer group, I am exceptionally proud of this team this past year. Their willingness to work outside of the box, while managing their own families during the pandemic, is inspiring. They are always thinking about what is best for students and how to inspire our community. We have updated many policies and procedures, team members are working on learning a new database, and in the near term constructing a new website.
We are so blessed to have a strong partnership with Dr. Pattenaude and the RSD team. Together we make sure that every gift given supports programs that enhance learning and provide students with opportunities that they may not have at home. We look forward to sharing student stories from the classroom this fall, and the difference your gifts continue to make.
On behalf of the Renton Schools Foundation, thank you to the donors and sponsors this year and over the past 12 years. We can’t do this work without you, and we especially need YOU this fall as our students and teachers return to their buildings.
Sincerely,
Pam Teal, Chair
Renton Schools Foundation