By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
The Alliance for Education — an independent local education fund has partnered with Seattle Public Schools (SPS) since 1995 to support excellence in education by advancing educational justice and racial equity for students – recently highlighted their impact and significant achievement over the past year.
According to Lisa Chick, President of the Alliance for Education, this list of accomplishments over the past year include the continued work of Right Now Needs Fund, the graduation of the 10th cohort of the Seattle Teacher Residency, and the completion of a $3.7 million fundraising campaign for SPS’s Office of African American Male Achievement (AAMA), which recently released its progress report.
“We had a very strong 2023,” says Lisa Chick, President of the Alliance for Education. “We continued the work of our Right Now Needs Fund, which addresses the basic needs of students across Seattle Public Schools. Amazon is one of the primary funders of that work. It’s designed to bring resources to every school in the district so that students who are experiencing gaps in basic needs, including food, clothing, housing, or educational supplies, as well as medical issues, can have them addressed.”
“There are resources that can be applied to those issues so that students can really focus on learning when they’re in the schoolhouse. So that work has continued and continued to grow,” Chick adds.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed inefficiencies, deficiencies, and disparities within public education, making funding for school systems a priority under the Biden/Harris administration. Stewarding philanthropic funding and innovative programming, The Alliance for Education, on behalf of SPS addresses those issues.
According to officials, “the Alliance catalyzes understanding, trust, partnership, investment, and innovation with the vision of ensuring all students in Seattle Public Schools experience a sense of belonging, receive an excellent and equitable education, and reach their fullest potential.”
Seattle Public Schools is the largest district in Washington, with an enrollment of 49,226 students and 6,486 school-based staff. The district consistently ranks high nationally among urban public districts and boasts over 700 National Board-Certified educators. More than half of the enrolled students identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC).
Superintendent of SPS, Dr. Brent Jones, acknowledges the Alliance’s vital role in promoting equity in education.
“Seattle Public Schools is a thriving district centered on student success and initiatives that increase equity for students furthest from educational justice. Our advancement in equity leads the way ahead of nearly every other urban school district from coast to coast,” says Dr. Jones. “The Alliance is a proven, essential partner as we garner community buy-in for the successes of our district.”
In 2023, the Alliance for Education made notable strides through its programs and investments, including:
• The Seattle Public Schools’ Office of African American Male Achievement (AAMA) released the “Seeding Success” report, detailing their targeted universalism approach to centering Black boys and teens in advancing educational justice. The report includes data and metrics highlighting student success outcomes. Since 2019, the Alliance has raised $3.7 million to support and sustain the AAMA.
• The Seattle Teacher Residency (STR) graduated its 10th cohort, bringing the total to 265 newly certified educators since 2013. Over 80% of these educators continue to teach through their fifth year, impacting around 5,000 students daily. Notably, 60% of STR graduates identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC).
• The Right Now Needs Fund, started in 2018, provided 14,333 instances of student support across all 104 Seattle Public School buildings in 2023, an increase of 1,500 from 2022. The fund has distributed $4.9 million to students and families to meet basic needs such as clothing, meals, and shelter, which are not typically covered by school budgets.
“Seattle schools have excellent qualities – but educational experiences for students are not yet truly equitable. We persist in our work aware that only by achieving racial equity and educational justice can we truly call our public school system excellent,” says Chick. “It’s my hope that this report amplifies what’s possible when we work in collaboration on behalf of Seattle students and inspires a new vision of what we can accomplish together going forward.”