Equitable Schools Fund

Sister Cities Project / Equitable Schools Fund

Communities coming together to ensure every child has access to quality education and opportunities, regardless of zip code. 

 

Today in San Diego’s Coastal North County, a child wakes up to attend a well-resourced school, where community fundraising supplements limited public funding–made possible by the more than $750 average suggested donation per student per year of private fundraising from the community–creating opportunities for enrichment classes, sports programs, and modern facilities. Meanwhile, in Southeast San Diego, a child prepares for school in an underfunded environment where teachers, staff and community members work tirelessly, sometimes just to the meet basic needs of their students, due to longstanding inequities in government funding.

These inequities aren’t simply a reflection of local circumstances but are the result of broader systemic challenges. While public policy reform is essential to achieving long-term equity, community support can also play a crucial role in closing the immediate resource gap, helping ensure that students across San Diego have access to vital resources and opportunities that enrich their learning experiences.

As San Diegans, we have a collective responsibility not only to advocate for policy changes but also to support schools in underfunded areas with donations. These contributions empower schools to meet the needs of their students and community, and create a more equitable educational environment for all.

Now there is a way to take action, by joining our grassroots movement to transform San Diego’s K-12 public education system. ​​

Read the op-ed on the Equitable Schools Fund, originally published in the San Diego Union Tribune:
Donations Fuel Inequity in Public Schools. Here’s a Better Way.

In partnership with San Diego Unified School District, the Equitable Schools Fund is tackling the inequities in funding and resources that burden K-12 schools in some neighborhoods in San Diego County brought on by systemic disinvestment and marginalization. Your donation directly invests in select schools, starting in Southeast San Diego, ensuring every child has access to quality education and opportunities, regardless of zip code.

Join the team of parents, students and community members building the Equitable Schools Fund in their schools and communities!

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 well-resourced communities, the funding gaps are easily and consistently filled by private fundraising from the community through PTAs and School Foundations. However, for schools in under-resourced communities, like Southeast 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, inadequate transportation options, 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 Southeast 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 Southeast 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. 

Click here to download the printable Equitable Schools Fund one-pager.

Check out photos from the latest Equitable Schools Fund events!

 

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).