As the Development Director for the Mercer Island Schools Foundation, I am very excited to be working with the Mercer Island community. A community committed to helping elevate the basic education funded by the state to the comprehensive, 21st century education Mercer Island students need to succeed.
My name is Carna Lapping and I loved my development and special events work I did with the American Lung Association over the last few years. I had the great opportunity to climb Mt. Rainier with an incredible group of our donors and spend 3 days biking in the San Juan Islands with another group. I look forward to climbing a whole different kind of mountain with those of you on Mercer Island –the steep climb of raising another $1.6 million this year to help our school district fund our amazing teachers and exceptional educational opportunities for students.
As you know, our annual Fall Phone-a-Thon campaign is right around the corner.
Your gifts have been crucial in ensuring that Mercer Island Schools maintain their tradition of excellence. Again this fall, we will be asking for a donation of $500 per student to fund new classroom curriculum, enrichment materials, student support programs and teacher professional development.
Undoubtedly you have heard the statistics. During the 2009 – 2010 school year statewide spending per student averaged $9,544. Mercer Island spent $9,692 per student. When compared to the 295 school districts in this state Mercer Island ranked 165th. Additionally, schools in Washington state rank 46th in class size comparisons across the country.
Looking beyond the alarming headlines about education funding and budget cuts and driven by a desire to combat the effect of shrinking state revenues, our community has an opportunity to infuse our schools with needed critical financial resources. Funding public education now requires additional support from stakeholders – parents and community members like you – to ensure that all students will benefit from an exceptional education that affords them the opportunity to achieve the highest levels of academic and personal success.
When your phone rings on November 7th or 8th please answer the call and give generously.
I look forward to working with Mercer Island Schools Foundation Board of Directors, School district administration and community leaders to provide the resources our public schools need to deliver exceptional educational opportunities to all 4,000 students. I also look forward to meeting you – the great donors who support the Mercer Island Schools Foundation!
