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Bellevue Schools Foundation 

Description

Bellevue Schools Foundation is a partnership between business leaders, parents, and community members formed to provide critical support to essential student programs in our local public schools. State funding for schools does not meet the needs of our students, so community support helps provide critical district-wide programs. Since its inception, the Foundation has raised over $22,000,000 for initiatives that improve academic rigor, support struggling students, and help teachers become more effective in the classroom.

Mission Statement
Bellevue Schools Foundation's mission is to develop, promote, and fund the best possible learning opportunities for ALL students in Bellevue's public schools.
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Bellevue Schools Foundation
PO Box 40644 
Bellevue 
WA
98015-4644 
(425) 456-4199 

Ms. Roxanne Shepherd 
Executive Director 

Programs

Bellevue Schools Foundation Programs

Bellevue Schools Foundation promotes, develops, and funds the best possible learning opportunities for ALL students in the Bellevue School District. We seek to TRANSFORM EDUCATION and SUPPORT STUDENTS through a variety of programs including:
  • ADAPTIVE LEARNING TECHNOLOGY to improve mathematics instruction in every Bellevue elementary school. Computer-based adaptive programs help teachers differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all learners, including students who need extra help and students gifted in mathematics who need new challenges.
  • PROJECT READINESS to help students in Bellevue’s high needs schools get ready to learn. Project Readiness supports Kindergarten Early Literacy Intervention for our early learners starting in Bellevue’s Title I schools, Positive Behavior Intervention to help students focus on learning, and Starting Strong summer programs to help students from Title I schools transition into middle and high school.
  • VIBES MENTORING PROGRAM to support preK-12 students in every school through one-on-one mentoring, small group and classroom mentors, study skills mentors, mentors for middle school youth of color, STEM mentors, and College Corps mentors who help high school seniors apply to college. The VIBES Mentoring Program supports over 5,000 students on an annual basis.

Recent Successes and Current Challenges

The Project Readiness program helps struggling students at ten Bellevue schools with growing numbers of low-income and non-English speaking students. The program supports projects that have a record of success. For example, today, 85% or more of Kindergartners in Bellevue’s high needs schools are achieving at or above grade level by the end of the year. This achievement is 50 percentage points higher than in the past for some of our central area schools before the implementation of Project Readiness.

We seek support to address the great need to raise student achievement, especially in children in poverty, to prepare them for success in a competitive and global economy. The current 'achievement gap' between students from low-income households and their peers from more affluent families is a critical problem in public education today. It requires action now. The Bellevue Schools Foundation is working to provide successful intervention strategies in elementary, middle and high school.

Evaluation


The Bellevue Schools Foundation represents a longstanding partnership between Eastside business leaders, parents and community-members focused on generating private investment in programs that support learning and achievement for all Bellevue students. As the Bellevue School District has become more socioeconomically and ethnically diverse, BSF and district leaders have developed new forms of support to help ensure that all students are college and career ready. Because public funding isn’t adequate to cover the cost of these interventions, the Bellevue Schools Foundation raises private funds to support them.

Accessibility and Cultural Competency
Based on research that shows that African-American boys and Latina girls are at greater risk of dropping out of school, BSF designed a new mentoring model to connect students of color to positive role models in the community and to create a broader culture of support for their academic growth and career goals. Bellevue’s VIBES (Volunteers in Bellevue’s Education System) Legacy Leadership Initiative recruited more than 120 mentors of color for the 2009-10 school year.

Collaboration
BSF is developing a partnership with the school district, the City of Bellevue and other community organizations to expand wrap-around services (social and health services) in schools serving low-income neighborhoods.

Grant History with The Seattle Foundation:

Grants Awarded through The Seattle Foundation Grantmaking Program:

DateAmountPurpose
11/6/2011 $10,000.00support Eastside Pathways' Planning Work.
12/10/2008 $10,000.00support general operating expenses of the Volunteers in Bellevue's Education System (VIBES) mentoring program.
3/16/2005 $10,000.00support general operating expenses.

Financials

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