Addressing classroom equity challenges,
PowerSchool also helped fund hundreds of classroom projects through
DonorsChoose
PowerSchool (NYSE: PWSC) announced today it has disbursed more
than $820,000 through its Education Fund to help new teachers enter
the profession and to support completion of hundreds of classroom
projects for schools in underserved communities.
Launched in July, the PowerSchool Education Fund, a
multi-initiative fund, is designed to tackle critical issues in the
education ecosystem, including the national teacher shortage, the
diversity gap, and access to education technology and
resources.
Putting More Teachers in Classrooms
The PowerSchool Education Fund aims to help address the national
teacher shortage by partnering with universities across the United
States to help reduce the barriers for education students to enter
the teaching profession. In addition to its initial university
partner, the University of California, Davis, PowerSchool will now
provide funding for more than 1,740 future teachers at seven more
universities: North Carolina State University, the University of
South Florida, the University of South Alabama, the University of
Texas, the University of Pennsylvania, Radford University, and the
University of Chicago.
“We are incredibly grateful to PowerSchool for its gift in
support of teacher candidates studying in the College of
Education,” said R. Anthony Rolle, PhD, Dean of the University of
South Florida College of Education. “The PowerSchool Education Fund
will support our students’ success by helping them cover
out-of-pocket expenses associated with becoming a certified teacher
in Florida. We hope that this new initiative will motivate
additional students to pursue careers in the education profession
and to graduate with as little student debt as possible.”
Stephanie Monarrez, a first-generation college student attending
the University of California, Davis’ School of Education, is one of
the 1,742 future teachers the PowerSchool Education Fund is
supporting. “I’m so grateful for the financial assistance to help
make my dreams of becoming a 5th grade teacher a reality,” Monarrez
said. “I’m looking forward to building strong student-teacher
relationships and making my future classroom a reflection of the
diversity of my students.”
Manal Keval is another education student at the University of
California, Davis’ School of Education that the PowerSchool
Education Fund is supporting. She comes from five generations of
female educators and said, “I have dreamed of becoming a teacher
since I was 3 years old. I want to become a teacher because I
firmly believe that our public schools need more teachers of
color.”
From Healthy Snacks to Sensory Cushions: Granting Teachers’
Wishes
In addition to addressing the national teacher shortage, the
PowerSchool Education Fund seeks to support equitable access to
education resources. This summer, PowerSchool partnered with Robert
F. Smith and Vista Equity Partners to provide a $1.3 million
donation to DonorsChoose to address classroom equity challenges in
predominately Black schools across 10 states, building on the work
of the Southern Communities Initiative to advance racial equity by
accelerating the deployment of corporate resources into six
southern communities that are home to half of all Black people in
the country.
Recognizing the inequities across our nation’s
classrooms—deepened by the COVID-19 pandemic—this gift provided a
direct surge of funding and inspired others to support teachers in
these classrooms. The donation fulfilled projects like quality
water and healthy snacks for a pre-K classroom in Alabama, and
sensory seating cushions for a classroom in South Carolina. “Making
my room as comfortable as possible for my students after making it
through such a difficult year is my goal,” said Ms. Myers, a
teacher at Pine Grove Elementary School. “Interactive and engaging
learning is my motive for this year!”
The donation to DonorsChoose meant that:
- 332 educational projects were funded to support and accelerate
student learning.
- 231 teachers received the support they needed to access
classroom supplies, launch new projects, and invest in their
careers.
- 108 schools in low-income communities received financial
resources.
- 100% of funds went to teachers and projects with predominately
Black student enrollment.
“Many of these teachers were welcoming students back for the
first time since the pandemic and their requests were for
necessities for classroom learning and support,” said Hardeep
Gulati, PowerSchool CEO. “There’s no doubt our nation’s teachers
faced unprecedented challenges last year and their continued
commitment to their students is inspiring. We were humbled to
fulfill requests and help make the transition back to school a bit
easier for these deserving teachers and their students.”
The donation supported the ongoing efforts of DonorsChoose to
partner with organizations committed to addressing racial inequity
in education. Across the platform, more than 77% of funded
DonorsChoose projects are from schools where more than half of
students come from low-income households.
“Our partnership with PowerSchool, Robert F. Smith, and Vista
Equity Partners is inspiring the public to help combat educational
inequity,” said Charles Best, founder of DonorsChoose. “By
supporting students through their classroom resources and
empowering teachers to pursue their own education, this
collaboration not only addresses inequity but also provides
opportunities for students to see themselves as the teachers of
tomorrow.”
In celebration of Giving Tuesday, PowerSchool will be providing
a matching program for its employees to help various organizations
that support students, educators, and families.
For more information about PowerSchool’s Education Fund, visit
https://www.powerschool.com/powerschool-education-fund.
About PowerSchool
PowerSchool (NYSE: PWSC) is the leading provider of cloud-based
software for K-12 education. Its mission is to power the education
ecosystem with unified technology that helps educators and students
realize their full potential, in their way. PowerSchool connects
students, teachers, administrators, and parents, with the shared
goal of improving student outcomes. From the office to the
classroom to the home, it helps schools and districts efficiently
manage state reporting and related compliance, special education,
finance, human resources, talent, registration, attendance,
funding, learning, instruction, grading, assessments and analytics
in one unified platform. PowerSchool supports over 45 million
students globally and more than 13,000 customers, including over 90
of the top 100 districts by student enrollment in the United
States, and sells solutions in over 90 countries. Visit
www.powerschool.com to learn more.
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Media Contact: Jenna Mills public.relations@powerschool.com
(916) 836-6378
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