Think about the advantages of living in a community with a top-notch school district.

First, our children receive a great education that pays dividends for both them and their community for their lifetime.

Second, the district’s parents enjoy the benefits of having their children attend school with other students from families who often place a high value on education; families that provide a valuable support system within the schools.

Lastly, and most broadly, a great school district acts as an economic magnet attracting families to the neighborhoods specifically within the borders of the district. These families shop in our stores, work in our communities, and pay a real estate premium to live in our district. This creates a win-win-win situation for the students, parents, and residents of the district.

The Lake Washington School District, along with many of our neighboring districts, score consistently high on test scores and graduation rates. All of these districts have active schools foundations that support the work of their public schools.

The Lake Washington Schools Foundation was founded four years ago by a group of community leaders that identified the need for a privately run non-profit to support the Lake Washington School District in its mission to provide an excellent education to all of its students.

While it is well established that the state’s formula for funding basic education is broken and badly in need of repair, the purpose of a schools foundation’s goes far beyond plugging those funding holes.

The Lake Washington Schools Foundation helps our community directly and efficiently invest in classroom learning. We fund grants that have an immediate and measurable impact within the classroom.

Last year, students and parents phoned many of the 16,000 district families as part of the Foundation’s first annual phone-a-thon. The students raised funds to support an upgrade to the hands-on science equipment used in our high schools. We raised over $30,000 in this first ever phone-a-thon.

This year’s phone-a-thon will take place from Feb 23-26. You have likely already seen the signs placed around many of the district’s schools. This year’s “Calling for Kids” campaign will again focus on raising funds for secondary science education.

We need your help. Please read the “Calling for Kids” mailers being sent to every family in the district. Then say yes to a donation; say yes to our students when they call you; say yes to giving our students the best experiential science education money can buy. Our community can deliver and show kids that we care about their education and their future.

Scott Harlan, President of the Lake Washington Schools Foundation