While the last year has been tumultuous on many fronts, it has also been a time for profound reflection.
As a foundation, we have devoted tremendous thought to the history of the organization and to the future of our grantmaking. Since 2004, College Spark has invested over $70 million to college readiness and degree completion programs for low-income students in Washington state, and while we have learned many lessons from our history and are proud of where we’ve been, we know it’s not enough.
We know that educational opportunity still isn’t equal in America. It’s highly dependent on family wealth, if your parents were college graduates, and race. Because educational disparities hold students back from their full potential and contribution to society, College Spark is committed to supporting our partners in strategies that put racial equity first, knowing that addressing strategies for students furthest from educational justice can support all students We prioritize this through our new mission – to support the postsecondary dreams of students and their communities through grantmaking focused on dismantling racism in the education system.
We envision an education system that encourages learners to be their authentic selves and is eager and equipped to guide them towards realizing their dreams.
We envision an education system that encourages learners to be their authentic selves and is eager and equipped to guide them towards realizing their dreams.
As we looked back – and as we look forward – we developed a framework to keep us transparent, keep us accountable, and to keep us focused. That focus includes a new set of values to keep us true to equitable outcomes and upholding community voice with our partners. Our values include:
- Collaboration – Transformative change requires building and supporting productive partnerships. When we work together, we make faster progress.
- Responsive Funding, Balanced with Long-Term Commitments – Our short and long-term funding helps partners focus on creating real results for their communities.
- Ensuring for Futurity – We are steady in our approach to lasting change. We invest in our community now for the benefit of future generations.
- Strengthening Relationships – Our success is linked to the strength of our connections. The best solutions come from building trust with and tapping the knowledge of institutional and community leaders.
The opportunity gap – once obvious to some – is now obvious to all. We have to capitalize on this level of awareness and take the bold action to make access to, and success in school a fundamental right for all students.
We have yet to unlock our state’s full potential in increasing diverse college graduates leading to diversifying the Washington state workforce. So over the next few years, we plan to dig deeper to better understand how to most effectively support community-driven systems change in education. We want to learn from you. We want to know how to best support your efforts for systemic change resulting in equitable access to resources and eliminating opportunity gaps for Washington students.
“Educational theory and approaches may not create results if they are not advanced by, and created through, community wisdom.”
We’ve learned so much over the last several years. We know that educational theory and approaches may not create results if they are not advanced by, and created through, community wisdom. Over all of the work we do, we are reminded of key lessons:
- We need to offer partners more chances to learn and we need to learn alongside them.
- Solutions are good but lasting solutions are the ones led by communities themselves.
- Having credibility demands genuine inclusion and lifting up diverse points of view.
- Our impact is magnified when we team up with partners and their strengths are maximized.
- We have to be nimble and open-minded. We have to take risks.
Looking forward, we are going to support our partners in centering community voice. We are going to help them build their capacity for lasting change. We are going to emphasize equity, diversity, and inclusion not only in the way we make grants, but in our daily operations as an organization. We are going to focus on race and intersectional characteristics of gender and income, knowing that this targeted approach for student success improves the educational outcomes of all students. We are going to maximize our impact by leveraging the strength of our partners – not only financially – but as thought partners and learning partners.
I am grateful and humbled to be working as part of the team at College Spark and look forward to working with you as we co-create a dynamic future for educational equity in Washington state.
