Beast Mode Update: We received 20 gifts to unlock our new $20k challenge gift! 

Thank you for stepping up!

This past year, Open School’s students and families have been disproportionately impacted by Covid, job loss, and increased trauma from anti-Black violence and xenophobic racism against our AAPI family. And yet, through extraordinary resilience, our students are showing up for school, owning their learning, and graduating to pursue their life goals.


What does it take to navigate and overcome the most difficult challenges?

CONNECTION

This is how Open School does school differently. Our programs understand the essential role of connection:

  • Connecting students with supportive peers who have each other’s backs, even over Zoom

  • Connecting students and families with staff who look like them, understand their culture, and take the time to build deep relationships

  • Connecting families with food, technology, and household resources so kids can focus on learning

  • Connecting school districts with our proven model for serving historically marginalized kids and families.

Together we can CHANGE THE GAME for under-served students by investing in the connections that break barriers. Join us!  



CHANGE THE GAME 

with a gift of any size!

A Year at Open School East $10,000

Covers the difference between the funds we receive from school districts and our actual cost to provide the small classes, individualized support and unconditional love to each student.

Fundraise

Summer School Field Trip $1,000

Allows 35 summer school students to take a special enriching field trip each week, after working hard to catch up on their academic credits.

Fundraise

Chromebook for Students $250

As our students engage in hybrid learning, we need to replace old Chromebooks that have gotten a lot of wear this year.

Fundraise

Care Packages for Step Up Students $25

Covers the expense for an Advocate to deliver food and household essentials, as well as gifts to celebrate student attendance and grades.

Fundraise


CONNECT WITH OTHERS!

Even though we can't all be together, you can still play our annual trivia game. Compete for Open School swag individually or connect with friends you haven't seen in a while with a game of trivia

We will post the daily prize winners here and on our social media, at 10:00 am PDT:

WHAT CONNECTION CAN DO

When Neveah got to middle school she felt isolated. Her family was living in a car and always moving around. She got used to changing schools, switching friend groups, and keeping a low profile with teachers. 

When she came to Open School East in 7th grade, she found a community and teachers that believed in her. Nevaeh says, “For the first time in my life, the teachers had been through similar life experiences. They could connect with me because of that. Their investment in me was bigger than academics.“

Nevaeh still struggled after she joined Open School. “They never judged me when I messed up. They saw I could be a better me. At first, I took advantage of the fact that they’d always be there for me,” She says,  “At the beginning of 8th grade, I lost my spot at Open because of some of my choices.” Nevertheless, the staff at Open School stayed in touch and encouraged her to try again. Nevaeh worked hard to return to Open and says that Open School’s unwavering belief in her is what helped her fully commit to the school community. 

Through a post-secondary class at Open School, Nevaeh connected to a career path that was meaningful to her. “I have personal experience of family members suffering loss from childbearing,” says Nevaeh, “My big dream is to be an OB/GYN at a birthing center.” Nevaeh ramped up her school work, getting good grades and graduating more than a year early. This fall, she will study biology at Linfield College on a full scholarship. 

Read Nevaeh’s full story in her own words here.


Three students at Franklin HS are proving that connections formed in Step Up can sustain through high school and beyond. Jeni, Jenni, and Shayla met at Step Up’s intensive leadership camp the summer before ninth grade. The three young women bonded while navigating ropes courses, talking about their goals for the future, and opening up about the obstacles they were facing. 

The three ladies were a part of the same Advocate group in Step up, meaning they spent time nearly every day after school checking in with each other, their peers and their Advocate Amanda. Despite being physically separated from their school community during distance learning, they stayed connected through group check ins and individual support with Amanda.  These three scholars are all graduating and headed to college in the fall. Jenni and Shayla will be rooming together at OSU and Jeni will be at Linfield University. We are so proud of them!

Check out an awesome student-led video about the Step Up program here!

WHO'S CHANGING THE GAME 

Thank you to everyone who has connected to our movement so far!

Thank you to these incredible sponsors for investing in our community!