Change the Game Open School
ORFL decided to Support Open School, a school in Portland Oregon that is trying to innovate education. They try to provide students education that suites them since traditional school did not help them and they were at risk of dropping out of school. Open School provides students with an environment that supports them and provides them what they need to graduate and gives them tools to be successful at life. Open School provides: academics, equity and advocacy.
Every year Open School has a fundraiser in April. The fundraisers aims to raise $150,000USD every year to make up the difference between funds received from the School Districts and the actual costs incurred at Open School. The costs at Open School are higher than what is provided to them because they want to give the students they serve extremely catered and specialised education suited to their needs. What also makes Open School costly is the small class sizes they provide. Teacher to student ratio is high increasing and improving student engagement.
This year the fundraiser was more important than ever due to COVID-19 and its effects. The School needed extra funds for emergencies and to adjust to the new normal.
ORFL donated to support the fundraiser which was also done with the promise of matched funds from the local community. The website below shows https://www.classy.org/campaign/change-the-game/c280753
Open School’s first ever virtual fundraiser “Change the Game” ended up raising $198,000USD from 205 members of the immediate Portland community and also from other states and countries. The fundraiser was also based on a virtual trivia competition between participants and students.
During the lockdown Open School has been supporting their students with food, mental health support and technology resources. Open School also conducted their own distance learning based around their relationship with each student they serve. ORFL is happy to have the opportunity to support Open School.
To find out more visit their website https://openschoolnw.org/
