For the Reporter

The Auburn School District was awarded $445,722 as part of the Road Map Region Race to the Top grant.

The funds will be used for a North Auburn Parent and Community Partnership (NAPCP) program for intensive support to students at Dick Scobee Elementary School.

The Race to the Top Deep Dive 3 Investment fund is to establish community-school partnerships. The fund is unique as it is intended to impact student outcomes and reduce the achievement gap through innovative and replicable partnerships between schools and community-based organizations.

The purpose is to further invest in advancing the region’s knowledge regarding how to effectively coordinate intensive student-level interventions, in school and out. Inventing and then scaling highly effective service integration models is a key goal of personalizing instruction and supports for each student.

Community partners in the NAPCP include United Way of King County, Auburn Youth Resources, Valley Cities Counseling, YMCA of Auburn, the Auburn Food Bank, Communities in Schools of Auburn, King County Housing Authority and Neighborhood House.

“This is a unique opportunity to explore how effective school-community partnerships drive student success,” said Project Lead Matthew Gulbranson. “Learning how to successfully support students in the opportunity gap by way of community partnerships has the potential to change the landscape of learning in high-needs schools in our region. It’s really exciting work.”

An independent panel was assembled to score the proposals and make recommendations to the Executive Committee. Award recommendations were made based on points received as well as other factors that impact the region such as return on investment and scalability. Following preliminary award decisions, Puget Sound ESD will finalize the terms of each award with districts through a contracting process.