The Park City Education Foundation unequivocally stands with the Black community, and all People of Color.
Since 1986, PCEF has worked relentlessly to fund initiatives to provide educational equity and give every student the opportunity to achieve their potential. Educational inequity matters because it grows over time, having a lasting impact on students, schools, and communities.
In the Park City School District,
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27% of our students are Students of Color
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20-25% of our students utilize the free and reduced lunch program*. That means nearly 1,000 kids are living in poverty.
Educational inequities mean students are less likely to pass exams in math, reading, civics, and science. And students who don’t perform well in elementary school are more likely to fall further behind and drop out.
One study found that nearly a quarter of students who don’t read proficiently by the end of third grade won’t graduate from high school on time, compared to 9% of children with basic reading skills and only 4% of proficient readers. These students are less likely to graduate from high school, less likely to enroll in college, and less likely to graduate from college. Once they are adults, they’re more likely to be unemployed and likely to earn less.
According to McKinsey and Company, this opportunity gap costs the US economy trillions of dollars per year.
Throughout the pandemic, we have heard from teachers, over and over, “This has exacerbated every inequity in our district.”
Without educational equity, there cannot be racial equity.
But together we can do more, lift more, build more. Right here in Park City, PCEF’s drive to create educational equity begins with funding Preschool, continues with the Afterschool program, and lasts all the way through college, with our Bright Futures program.
Since our inception in 1986, we have funded Classroom Grants to support educator ideas to better engage and teach EVERY child.
And this year, we have also provided direct basic needs assistance to our most vulnerable families in crisis, giving cash and gift cards to families for things like food, diapers, basic hygiene products, cleaning supplies, and more.
We can only do this thanks to support, commitment, and financial resources from donors like you.
*Utah Free and Reduced Lunch:
Free lunch = family of four earning less than $34,060/year
Reduced lunch = family of four earning less than $48,470.
