1 / 16

Building a Strong Community for Ravenswood School

Friends of Ravenswood School (FORS) supports Ravenswood School by fundraising and fostering community involvement. Help us build a stronger school community together!

maik
Download Presentation

Building a Strong Community for Ravenswood School

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Friends of Ravenswood School Community Retreat June 3, 2012

  2. Brief History of FORS Non-profit founded in February, 2005 to support Ravenswood School All parents and guardians of Ravenswood students and all Ravenswood faculty and staff are members of FORS Helped reverse a negative enrollment trend Raised more than $250k to support Ravenswood students’ educations www.friendsofravenswood.com

  3. Current Situation • Leadership transition year • Holes in FORS leadership • After-affects of loss of primary school-wide communications volunteer • PTA folded into FORS • School administration is under-resourced • CPS provides little to no staff or resources to manage many functions necessary to run a 21st century school

  4. Current Situation • School community profile/demographics have changed substantially in recent years • Different expectations • More parents willing to be involved • More parents with resources • Significant effects in the state and federal funding formulas • New interest in neighborhood schools by surrounding community • Increasing interest in raising kids in the city and participating in CPS • Alderman Pawar promotes involvement; builds support framework

  5. Current Situation FORS funded Merit Music program in 2011-2012 LSC has asked FORS to continue to fund music education at Ravenswood 2012-2013 Fundraising Goal: $85,000

  6. Planning Process • Since February: open-ended, small group meetings • Parents • Teachers • Administrators • Community members • A few playground conversations and observations • A central gathering of views and ideas • Contributions by about 40 people to date … and counting

  7. Common Themes Communication is our biggest hurdle Lots of people want to be involved, but aren’t Overall fear about the amount of money FORS needs to raise

  8. Scope of FORS involvement Build and strengthen the Ravenswood School community Market the school and recruit new students/families Secure supplemental funding and community resources on behalf of the school

  9. Scope of FORS involvement Build and strengthen the Ravenswood School community Market the school and recruit new students/families Secure supplemental funding and community resources on behalf of the school

  10. Build & Strengthen the Ravenswood School Community • The importance of communication in the school community cannot be exaggerated • Communication connects families to the school and to each other, thus building a strong school community • Communication supports fundraising efforts and volunteer needs

  11. Scope of FORS involvement Build and strengthen the Ravenswood School community Market the school and recruit new students/families Secure supplemental funding and community resources on behalf of the school

  12. Market the School &Recruit New Students/Families Maintain a positive enrollment trend Engage the surrounding neighborhood Communication continues to be key

  13. Scope of FORS involvement Build and strengthen the Ravenswood School community Market the school and recruit new students/families Secure supplemental funding and community resources on behalf of the school

  14. Secure Supplemental Funding and Community Resources Support school community priorities Minimize effects of budget cuts Replace funding lost due to demographic shifts Provide lots of different ways to participate Communication continues to be key!

  15. Goal for 2012-2103… and Beyond Build a strong and engaged school community that can support the school priorities identified by school administration and the Ravenswood School Council

  16. Next year begins now! Build and strengthen the Ravenswood School community Market the school and recruit new students/families Secure supplemental funding and community resources on behalf of the school

More Related