Equitable Schools Fund
Equitable Schools Fund
Communities coming together to ensure every child has access to quality education and opportunities, regardless of zip code.
Today, a child in San Diego’s Coastal North County is waking up for school. Their school provides abundant enrichment classes, thriving sports programs, and state-of-the-art classrooms–made possible by the more than $750 average suggested donation per student per year of private fundraising from the community, which supplements the inadequate government funding.
Just across town, in Southeastern San Diego, another child is waking up for school. Their school is working tirelessly to ensure every childs’ basic needs are met while working within the budget of the inadequate government funding. Did they get a good night’s sleep? Have they eaten? Do they have access to hygiene products? Each of these and more are essential to maximizing a student’s experience at school. Unfortunately until now, at this school there has been no practical avenue for us–caring neighbors, generous community members, proud San Diegans–to make donations to uplift and empower these students and communities.
In partnership with San Diego Unified School District, the Equitable Schools Fund is tackling the inequities in funding and resources that plague K-12 schools in some neighborhoods in San Diego County brought on by systemic disinvestment and marginalization. Your donation directly invests in select schools in Southeastern San Diego, ensuring every child has access to quality education and opportunities, regardless of zip code.
Now there is a way to take action, by joining our grassroots movement to transform San Diego’s K-12 public education system through the Sister Cities Project Equitable Schools Fund.
Expand the items below to learn more about why the Equitable School Fund is so critical.
What are the inequities in funding and resources?
Inadequate public funding with no avenue for private fundraising support
Because public dollars for schools are susceptible to government budget fluctuations and a school’s absenteeism rates, San Diego’s K-12 public schools are faced with inadequate public funding. For schools in affluent communities, the funding gaps are easily and consistently filled by private fundraising from the community through PTAs and School Foundations. However, for schools in underserved communities, like Southeastern San Diego (SESD), there are typically no formal PTAs or School Foundations (due to a variety of systemic barriers to establishing and operating these entities)–and therefore no avenue for private donations–further exacerbating inequities in our education system.
- For nearly all K-12 public schools in San Diego County, government funding is based on the number of students who attend school, so chronic absenteeism (due to a variety of systemic issues including physical health and wellness issues, lack of transportation, community safety, and housing instability) impacts a school’s budget. For an average school in SESD, the chronic absenteeism rate is 44% while the rate for an average school in Solana Beach is 7%.
- For an average elementary school in SESD, fundraising from the community is not possible, as there is no formal School Foundation or PTA through which to fundraise. At an elementary school in San Diego’s North County Coastal region (including Carmel Valley, Del Mar, Solana Beach, and Rancho Santa Fe), where there is an active School Foundation and PTA, the average suggested donation from families is over $750 per student, with a total investment of hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.
Called on to provide far more
To truly serve and meet the needs of their students–most from socioeconomically disadvantaged families, many dealing with housing insecurity, and a significant proportion being English language learners–schools in underserved communities are called on to provide far more than schools in affluent communities.
- At an average elementary school in SESD, 97% of the students are from socioeconomically disadvantaged families, 24% of students are housing insecure, and 57% are English language learners, while at an average elementary school in Solana Beach, just 16% of students are from socioeconomically disadvantaged families, less than 1% of students are housing insecure, and 7% are English language learners.
What are the disparities in outcomes?
The lack of stable funding coupled with greater student and community needs at schools in underserved communities leads to massive disparities in student outcomes, which shows up in literacy and math competency rates.
- At an average elementary school in SESD, just 23% of students are at least at grade level for reading and 15% for math while at an average elementary school in Solana Beach, 82% of students are at least at grade level for reading and 77% for math.
It’s an education system that is failing, not due to students or families or the schools themselves, but due to systemic inequities and disparities in the way we value one child’s education, and future, over another.
Where will the funding go?
In partnership with San Diego Unified School District, the Equitable Schools Fund directly invests in select schools in Southeastern San Diego through the Community Schools Initiative–a well-established national initiative for under-resourced schools that provides an evidence-based pathway to lifting all students and the communities they live within.
While the Community Schools Initiative is partially funded by government grants, there are restrictions on the use of funds, and funding is limited and likely to sunset soon, so there remain significant unmet needs–needs which, with your help, will be filled by the Equitable Schools Fund. Your donation supports the specific and critical needs of select schools in Southeastern San Diego including projects such as: childcare costs associated with parent education classes, STEAM partnership programs with local universities, after school enrichment programs, set up of food pantries and clothing closets, and stipends for parent mentorship programs.
To learn more about the Community Schools Initiative, visit nea.org/communityschools and the SDUSD Community Schools website.
Join the team of parents & community members building the Equitable Schools Fund in their schools and communities!
Data and statistics are from 2022-2023, courtesy of Ed-Data (a partnership of the California Department of Education, EdSource, and the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team/California School Information Services – www.ed-data.org) and the California Department of Education’s DataQuest (dq.cde.ca.gov).