A $541,300 donation was made to the Foundation for Vancouver Public Schools by an anonymous donor recently. This donation will benefit the early learning programs from 2017 to 2020. This is the largest single donation made to the foundation in its 30 years of existence.
“The depth of support from our community is impressive. Through the Foundation for Vancouver Public Schools, we can optimize this generous gift to have a strong impact on students at the local level. This significant investment in Vancouver students will impact our littlest learners and help set students and their families on a path for success,” said Nada Wheelock, executive director, Foundation for VPS.”
$306,000 of the monies will go directly towards the districts preschool programs. “This donation immediately allows us to expand our preschool program so children who otherwise might not have this learning opportunity can start kindergarten ready to learn on day one,” said Debra Hale, executive director of teaching and learning.” Research has shown that students readiness for kindergarten is directly tied to third-grade literacy and graduating on time.
The district started to offer evening preschool at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementry two years ago. The program was successful and the district added evening preschools at four other high-needs schools just last year. This year, nine schools have evening preschool programs with 170 students. By the 2020-21 school year, the district hopes to have evening preschool programs in 15 schools.
“This gift will be paid forward a thousand times by providing our community’s youngest students with the foundation they need to be successful for the rest of their lives. It benefits them, their siblings, their families, and this community,” said Superintendent Steve Webb. “We are grateful to the donor and to the Foundation for VPS for their ongoing partnership and support in improving the lives of our children and youth.”
A typical preschool program runs one to two nights a week for five or six weeks. The schedule can be flexible to accommodate the needs of each school community. Most of the time classes are taught by kindergarten teachers and those students will be becoming kindergartners in the fall. Teachers aim to teach their preschoolers social and emotional skills and build their self-confidence.
The remaining funds will be used to provide district-wide support for elementary students at 11 high-needs schools. “Funds will be used to remove barriers to learning, engage families in their children’s learning and provide enrichment and mentoring opportunities.”
