SCHOOL FORCE FOUNDATION NEWS
Reading Power 2012 is on!
On your mark, get set, read! Everyone's favorite fundraiser Reading Power Read-a-thon is back for 2012! The children received their packets Friday 1/13. They will have just two weeks to read all they can and raise all they can! Reading Power is a read-a-thon and fundraiser for children in the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District. Last year, Cipriani raised a record-breaking $47,000 through this event, and district-wide we raised over $217,000! This is one of the biggest fundraisers for School Force,
plus it gets our kids reading. What could be better?
We all know that the state budget for schools is shrinking and our schools are in danger every year from new budget cuts. Reading Power is the perfect opportunity to do something positive for our kids and get our community and families involved in saving our school, not just Cipriani families but extended families, neighbors and local businesses. The money raised last year was raised in $20 increments from grandparents, aunts, uncles, doctors, dentists, and many local businesses. And, it is easier than ever for sponsors to donate online at the School Force web site.
Reading Power comes with some fun incentives to reward the hard work of your children's efforts, this year for every $100 raised your child will have a chance to win an ipod nano. The class that reads the most and the class that raises the most through pledges will win pizza parties. Everyone child who reaches 500 minutes of reading will receive a BR certificate and for our 1000 minute club members we have a cool prize to give out. Remember in order to qualify for any prize you must complete a packet with minutes read and at
least one pledge turned in by February 1st.
We will have a table Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning by the MUR to hand out scales for our dragon for every 100 minutes read. And at the next two Monday morning meetings we will randomly pick a scale to award a small prize!
We really need parent volunteers to make this year the best yet.
Reading Power is all volunteer run and we need your help to make it great. Volunteers are needed for tallying and scale distribution every MWF and help tallying up at the end. We especially need volunteers for the kindergarden classes. In addition we could use some helping hands to create thousands of scales for our amazing dragon! If you were around last year you know how involved the kids get in getting scales and reaching their fundraising and reading goals. It's truly an amazing event! Please sign up to volunteer here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet
Excited yet? Interested in volunteering? Want more information. Please contact us your Reading Power Co-Chairs: Ann Rivello at annrivello@gmail.com or Wendy Garrish at wrgarrish@yahoo.com
Hey Cipriani, let’s get our kids fired up for reading!Look for more information in the new year. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact Wendy Garrish at wrgarrish@yahoo.com or Ann Rivello at annrivello@gmail.com
by Gretel Pickering, Cipriani School-Force Liaison
• Maximize your tax write-off! As we near the end of this tax year, please be sure you've given all you want to give for this year to maximize your write-off! You have until June 30th to make an impact on the 2012-2013 school year, but write-offs for this calendar year end soon! Visit http://schoolforce.org/donate/ to make an additional donation now!
• Planning your online holiday shopping? When shopping on Amazon, please be sure to use the School-Force link: http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=schoforc02-20. School-Force earns on average 7% of the money you spend, at no cost to you! Most School-Force dollars earned through shopping come from Amazon, but using http://www.shopforschools.org/schoolforce/shop.php also helps School-Force earn free money!
If you have questions about School-Force please contact Gretel Pickering, Cipriani School-Force liaison at cipriani@schoolforce.org and/or check out the School-Force website at http://schoolforce.org/
- Join the School-Force team! Check out the volunteer opportunities within School-Force!
http://schoolforce.org/volunteer/ - Find School-Force on Facebook to see links to articles about local education issues
-
Are you new to the district? Confused
about why a foundation is necessary and why it's important to support
both School-Force and the PTA? More information about School-Force is
available on the website, including FAQs, a list of programs supported
and contact information http://schoolforce.org/volunteer/
- There are lots of ways you can get involved! Join us in helping assure our children a quality education.
| Donate You can donate online, through the mail, or even through easy monthly credit-card payments. Get informed, involved and invested today! Learn more… | Shop for School-Force Shop for what you want – and support local schools while doing it! Purchases originating from our Shopping page will earn referral fees for School-Force. |
| Patronize Our Sponsor Businesses Our local business community has been a key part of our efforts. Pay them a visit and tell them you appreciate their support of our schools! See the complete list. | Subscribe to Our Newsletter You’ll keep up-to-date on our progress, hear about inspiring success stories, and be in-the-know about upcoming events! Sign up here. |
| Be a School-Force Class Representative Help personalize the School-Force message for your school, educating parents and helping us reach our campaign goals. Want to find out more? Contact your school’s School-Force Liaison. | Volunteer Your Skills We’re always on the lookout for talented and enthusiastic individuals. Help with donor thank-you’s (an at-home, flexible position), graphic design, desktop publishing, marketing, and more. Just ask, if you are interested, and we’ll fit you in! |
| See If Your Company Will Match Your Donation Many companies match employee donations to educational foundations. Learn more… | Support Our Community Events Attend our fundraising events, such as our annual Casino Royale auction in the spring or the Save The Music Festival in October. View our event calendar |
SCHOOL-FORCE FAQs (as seen in our May 2-6, 2011 newsletter)
Why do Public Schools in California Need Private Funding?
Thirty years ago California passed proposition 13, which dramatically changed the way California public schools were financed. At that time, per-pupil spending in California ranked among the top five states in the nation.
Today, when adjusted for the cost of living, California ranks 47th in the nation in per-pupil spending. This lack of funds directly impacts the success of, and opportunities for, all of our children. In the Pew Trust foundation’s Quality Counts: California – State Highlights 2007 report, the State of California ranked 37th in the Elementary and Secondary Performance Index and 34th in the Chance for Success Index.
Are We the Only District With An Education Foundation?
Many communities in California have responded to the need for increased funding by creating local education foundations. There are over 29 such foundations within San Mateo County alone. In 2007, over 600 local educational foundations in California raised more than $220 million dollars to benefit local schools. To find out more, see the “Schools Lean on Parents to Close Their Budget Gaps – Donations/Budget Cuts Factor into Push” article from the August 27th, 2006 edition of the San Jose Mercury News and the California Consortium of Education Foundations website: www.cceflink.org
I Already Gave Money to the PTA…
…do I still need to give money to School-Force? We ask all parents to become supporting members of both School-Force and their school’s PTA. Both organizations work hard to provide a quality educational experience for our children. Your PTA raises money for school-specific expenses such as buying teaching supplies, playground equipment, computers, etc. PTAs are not allowed to pay for salaries of educators and other staff. School-Force raises money to fund district-wide teacher salaries for programs like music, science, reading specialists, and libraries and this year could also help decrease how many classroom teachers lose their jobs. Learn more…
What If I Cannot Afford to Pay My “Fair Share”?
School-Force suggests a per-child donation amount. Some people give more, some people give less. If you cannot donate at the suggested level, please give whatever you can. The goal is for every family within the Belmont Redwood Shores school district to be part of School-Force and understand the educational needs that the foundation endeavors to address.
How Will My Donation Be Spent?
Last year School-Force provided just over $1.6 million for the 2010-2011 school year, which saved:
How this year’s donations will be spent is a district School Board decision. No promises can be made because the situation is still so fluid. The state could still cut more money, property tax income could decrease still more, and union negotiations are still pending. Although it is too early to know the exact funding level for education in next year’s state budget, we anticipate that in order to keep what we have this year, we need to raise at least $1.6 million by June 30th. We must raise over $2 million to even consider bringing back the libraries & bringing class sizes down to last year’s ratios (20:1 in K-3 classes).
Right now, here’s what the 2011-2012 school year looks like: Current Status for 2011-2012 ; and here is more on our Funding Policy.
Learn More
We strongly encourage everyone to take the time to learn about public education and school funding, as the more you know, the better able you will be to make the informed decisions that allow you to help give your child the education that you want for them.
Read about schools in the local media on our In The News page.
Also, check out School-Force’s new blog - learn about updates and post comments.
And visit these informative websites:
• California Department of Education
• Educacy
• EdSource
• EdVoice
• EdWeek
• California School Finance
• The Merrow Report
• San Mateo County Office of Education
• The Rand Report: California Schools: How’re They Doing?
• National Education Association Rankings and Estimates
Why do Public Schools in California Need Private Funding?
Thirty years ago California passed proposition 13, which dramatically changed the way California public schools were financed. At that time, per-pupil spending in California ranked among the top five states in the nation.
Today, when adjusted for the cost of living, California ranks 47th in the nation in per-pupil spending. This lack of funds directly impacts the success of, and opportunities for, all of our children. In the Pew Trust foundation’s Quality Counts: California – State Highlights 2007 report, the State of California ranked 37th in the Elementary and Secondary Performance Index and 34th in the Chance for Success Index.
Are We the Only District With An Education Foundation?
Many communities in California have responded to the need for increased funding by creating local education foundations. There are over 29 such foundations within San Mateo County alone. In 2007, over 600 local educational foundations in California raised more than $220 million dollars to benefit local schools. To find out more, see the “Schools Lean on Parents to Close Their Budget Gaps – Donations/Budget Cuts Factor into Push” article from the August 27th, 2006 edition of the San Jose Mercury News and the California Consortium of Education Foundations website: www.cceflink.org
I Already Gave Money to the PTA…
…do I still need to give money to School-Force? We ask all parents to become supporting members of both School-Force and their school’s PTA. Both organizations work hard to provide a quality educational experience for our children. Your PTA raises money for school-specific expenses such as buying teaching supplies, playground equipment, computers, etc. PTAs are not allowed to pay for salaries of educators and other staff. School-Force raises money to fund district-wide teacher salaries for programs like music, science, reading specialists, and libraries and this year could also help decrease how many classroom teachers lose their jobs. Learn more…
What If I Cannot Afford to Pay My “Fair Share”?
School-Force suggests a per-child donation amount. Some people give more, some people give less. If you cannot donate at the suggested level, please give whatever you can. The goal is for every family within the Belmont Redwood Shores school district to be part of School-Force and understand the educational needs that the foundation endeavors to address.
How Will My Donation Be Spent?
Last year School-Force provided just over $1.6 million for the 2010-2011 school year, which saved:
• Classroom Teachers (ratios would have been 30:1 in lower grades and 35:1 in upper grades)Without School-Force’s contribution, these would have been lost, or other things would have been cut in order to pay for those items listed above.
• Reading Specialists
• Science Specialists
• 4th/5th Grade Instrumental & Choral Music Programs
• Dean & Counseling Services at Ralston Middle School
• Athletics at Ralston Middle School
• Crossing Guards
• Instructional Days (reduction of furlough days)
How this year’s donations will be spent is a district School Board decision. No promises can be made because the situation is still so fluid. The state could still cut more money, property tax income could decrease still more, and union negotiations are still pending. Although it is too early to know the exact funding level for education in next year’s state budget, we anticipate that in order to keep what we have this year, we need to raise at least $1.6 million by June 30th. We must raise over $2 million to even consider bringing back the libraries & bringing class sizes down to last year’s ratios (20:1 in K-3 classes).
Right now, here’s what the 2011-2012 school year looks like: Current Status for 2011-2012 ; and here is more on our Funding Policy.
Learn More
We strongly encourage everyone to take the time to learn about public education and school funding, as the more you know, the better able you will be to make the informed decisions that allow you to help give your child the education that you want for them.
Read about schools in the local media on our In The News page.
Also, check out School-Force’s new blog - learn about updates and post comments.
And visit these informative websites:
• California Department of Education
• Educacy
• EdSource
• EdVoice
• EdWeek
• California School Finance
• The Merrow Report
• San Mateo County Office of Education
• The Rand Report: California Schools: How’re They Doing?
• National Education Association Rankings and Estimates
Visit the School-Force website at http://schoolforce.org/.
What is School Force?
School-Force (SF) is the Belmont-Redwood Shores Public Education Foundation. Unlike the PTA, our Foundation can fund teachers, such as music instructors and reading specialists. The PTA provides funds for volunteer-based programs, assemblies, field trips and school materials. Both School-Force and the PTA help bridge the financial gap faced by our school. Therefore it is important to support both organizations.
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