april 2024 update
support students — one shot at a time!
Team registration now open
Join us Friday, July 12, for this year's Olympia Education Foundation Scramble!
We are moving the event to a different venue, Capitol City Golf Club, and we have no doubt it will be just as fun as ever!
Don't wait too long to round up a foursome! This event typically sells out.
Sponsorships are also available; most include a team of four.
Questions? Contact events@olyedfoundation.org, or use one of the two buttons below, to learn more.
We look 'fore'-ward to seeing you at Capitol City on July 12!
now accepting grants for 24-25 school year
a capital high school student participates in synthesizer club, made possible in part thanks to foundation grants.
School staff invited to apply for up to $2,000
The Olympia Education Foundation is now accepting Grant Requests for the 2024-2025 school year from district staff who work directly with students.
The application will remain open until 5 p.m. Friday, June 21. Applicants will be notified of the status of their request by mid-August, and funds will be made available by Sept. 3.
The intention of this new timeline is to ensure that applicants: 1) know before the school year begins the status of their Grant Request; and 2) can begin their project within the first week or two of school (if their request is approved). Please note: An applicant's request will not be considered until a Post-Grant Report is submitted for any outstanding projects funded by the Foundation.
Our grants are intended to support educators seeking to enhance student learning, close opportunity gaps, and meet needs that the district and individual school buildings cannot. Grants are limited only by the applicant's creativity and the needs of their students. (Please review our guidelines to learn about the few projects that the Foundation will not consider.)
Requests may be made in any amount up to $2,000. (Exception: Browsers Books Grant Requests may be made in any amount up to $500.)
A second application period for the 24-25 year will open Aug. 26, 2024, and close Oct. 24. Applicants will be notified by Nov. 15, with funds available by Nov. 22.
community event: free for students!
Youth encouraged to attend May 22 'fireside chat'
In response to the trend of increased polarization across our communities locally and nationally, the Community Foundation of South Puget Sound has invited Monica Guzman, a journalist and author dedicated to fostering fearlessly curious conversations across divides to build understanding in dangerously polarizing times, to speak to our community on Wednesday, May 22.
We are pleased to partner with the Community Foundation to make this event free for students in the Olympia School District.
Students interested in attending can send from their @students.osd email account an email to events@olyedfoundation.org. (Parents are welcome to send an email from their own account on their student's behalf.) They will receive a promo code for a free ticket and can use it to select their seat.
More details about Guzman and the event can be found here.
parenting tools
Last three events for the school year: April 30, May 1 and May 8
Our free parent education series continues in April and May with three additional presentations open to all families that have students in the Olympia School District.
Tuesday, April 30: Jessica Martinez will share how you can offer your middle- and high-school students more support and answer questions about raising your teen-ager. All Olympia School District families are welcome. Please note: This presentation will be given entirely in Spanish.
6 to 7:30 p.m.
Roosevelt Elementary School library
Free on-site child care provided (for kids who can use the toilet on their own)
Wednesday, May 1: Screens: How much time is too much? How can I set limits without kids melting down? What kind of content is right for their ages? Come join a conversation with Emily McMason about how to navigate the online world so kids can learn, grow and thrive with media as part of their lives. (Presentation covers content most appropriate for middle- and high-school students.)
7 to 8:30 p.m.
Jefferson Middle School library
ALL OSD families welcome. (You do not need to have a student enrolled at Jefferson to attend.)
Can't attend in person? Join us virtually via this link.
Wednesday, May 8: Resilience: Emily McMason will help you understand what it is, why it's an important part of childhood and beyond, how we help our kids build it, and rebuild it -- again and again and again. This is geared toward families that have K-5 students.
6 to 7:30 p.m.
Madison Elementary library
ALL OSD families welcome. (You do not need to have a student enrolled at Madison to attend.)
Free on-site child care provided (for kids who can use the toilet on their own)
These are the last three parent ed events of the current school year. We hope to offer them again in 24-25! Let us know about topics that would be helpful to you in support of your students by completing the form at the bottom of this page.
If you are a provider and would like to be considered as a presenter for next year, send us an email and tell us a little bit about yourself: events@olyedfoundation.org.
community support spotlight
We may have been a little bit more country than rock and roll, but we still had a rockin' good time earlier this month at West Olympia Rotary's "Jukebox Heroes" dueling pianos fundraiser. We are grateful that our Principal's Emergency Fund was selected as the beneficiary of this incredibly fun event. Thank you, West Olympia Rotary!