By Ronna Weltman

Special to the Bellevue Reporter

It is no secret that Washington state education funding is inadequate to provide the first-class education that many in Bellevue expect and demand for our community’s children. The Bellevue Schools Foundation helps bridge the gap between students’ needs and the resources to address them.

The foundation, founded in 1979, provides programs and funds for all students in Bellevue’s elementary, middle, and high schools. These funds go toward academic initiatives, purchases of curriculum materials and books, training opportunities for teachers, and programs to meet students’ special needs.

A Board of Trustees provides the oversight and counsel to ensure wise financial stewardship. The foundation’s mission is to develop, promote and fund the best possible learning opportunities for all students in the Bellevue School District.

“Our children need a top-notch education to compete in our global economy” explained Executive Director Roxanne Kröon Shepherd. “The foundation connects community members’ deep commitment to high quality education with the skilled educators and programs that can give every child in Bellevue the education they deserve.”

In addition to its many other programs, the foundation is funding three new programs this year: Adaptive Technology for Elementary Math, Middle School Innovation, and College & Career Next Steps.

The Adaptive Technology program will help elementary teachers provide individualized instruction to help students catch up on missed learning or accelerate and develop new skills.

Middle School Innovation provides a variety of targeted learning strategies to extend learning for struggling middle school students.

College and Career Next Steps provides help to high school students, including extensive support with career exploration and college applications and online tools for parents and students to ease the often intimidating process of applying to college.

The foundation relies on the support of parents and individual donors as well as local and international organizations. Businesses also can provide special help in the form of sponsorships and in-kind donations.

Community members can learn more about the Bellevue Schools Foundation through programs such as its Education Connections series. Topics in the past school year included Technology for Academic Success, The Arts: Part of a Complete Education and School Funding 101. Other events and programs, as well as the opportunity to donate to the Foundation, can be found at bellevueschoolsfoundation.org.

Ronna Weltman is a trustee of the Bellevue Schools Foundation