ILLUMINATION: NOT JUST AN IDEA, BUT AN IDEAL

On NKSF Using Light to Inspire and Educate

Last year, NKSF began rebranding our sustaining donor programs, and one important consideration involved how to separate and recognize district staff and educators from community donors. The district personnel donating to support the programs and education their peers want to provide for students deserved special recognition. At the same time, we wanted to build a new avenue to recognize parents and other community members for their contributions.

We chose light as a symbol because there are so many incredibly powerful themes associated with light that connecting our work and the importance of our sustaining donors with the concept seemed a natural fit.

We started with SPARK to recognize teachers and staff supporting the struggle to provide inspirational learning for students. SPARK symbolizes igniting a fire in students' minds, a brilliance that we hope they’ll carry with them throughout their lives, so we thought it fitting that district employee donors gain that moniker. The hardworking teachers and staff of the North Kitsap School District give our students their first glimpse of the fiery passions they can cultivate. They are the SPARK.

Continuing on this theme, the Luminaries program came about from our passion to include the local community in our mission to build strong schools and support innovative education. Our public school districts are increasingly required to rely on their communities to ensure education remains available to children. As unfunded mandates trickle down from the State and Federal levels, opportunities for students begin to dim and, in some cases, fall into darkness. Luminaries help by holding a light along the path to brighter possibilities. 

As both programs aim to provide much-needed funding that will help teachers spark a spark in their students, they’re also meant to bring together community members passionate about making public education brilliant. The complexity of the public education system presents enough of a struggle for the teachers, administrators, and locally elected school district officials who have chosen the profession that parents and other community members can easily grow detached from the convoluted mechanisms behind it all. We can learn from one another, share our ideas and concerns, and connect with others who may be able to help. 

With NKSF as a connector, we aim to offer a safe space for discussion and collaboration among our donors and partners on our new website. As an NKSF donor who may be concerned about a specific program in the district, our goal through the Guiding Lights Community Forum is to help connect you with others interested in building something with our teachers that NKSF can fund and find partners to help out. 

Inspiration from a passionate NKSF Luminary donor may connect with SPARK educators interested in helping implement the idea, apply to NKSF for funding, and encourage community partners who can help make it a reality throughout the district. A couple of examples include programs such as Salmon Seekers and the Dual-Language Club, which we’d love to see expand throughout the district. 

What ideas do you have? Join Luminaries or SPARK to gain instant access to the Guiding Lights discussion group and share it with us and others passionate about education in the district. If you’re a business and would like to collaborate, talk to us about Honor Roll and get involved. If you’d like to contribute in other ways as part of our Cornerstone Club or Community Champions, reach out to us with your ideas and join us in building strong schools and a stronger community.