Fundraising Made Easy: Best School Practices

In addition to being educators, public school teachers have the never-ending task of hand wringing and scrounging to provide the simplest classroom needs.

So when DonorsChoose.org, a fundraising website, launched in 2000 to engage the community and provide individuals a simple, accountable and personal way to address educational inequality, teachers and PTA’s across the nation were ecstatic.

DonorsChoose.org is an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need. It connects public school teachers with people who want to support classroom learning.

Public school teachers from across America can post classroom project requests; anything from pencils for a poetry writing contest to instruments for a school recital, balls for P.E. class, or iPads for online book access.

Donors can then browse project requests by location or subject, or even search for a particular school, and give any amount to the one that inspires them. Once a project reaches its fundraising goal, Donorschoose.org delivers the materials to the school.

A gift of as little as $1 gets the same level of choice, transparency, and feedback as someone who gives millions. All donors receive photos of the project taking place, a thank-you letter from the teacher/students, and a cost report showing how each dollar was spent.

It’s that easy! Post your need and start fundraising for your school or classroom today!

 

Disparity in school funds increases socioeconomic gap

Recent reports in the news show a growing disparity over how schools within the same district raise funds. It is not uncommon for a gap between the have and have-not’s to exist within a school district.

Public schools are meant to provide all children equal access to quality education; however, there are great disparities throughout the public education system.

Private donations made to schools in more affluent communities makes this disparity an even greater gap.

The question then becomes, how does a district provide a level playing field for all schools within their district? Continue reading

  • March 6, 2012
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Grants for K-12 Schools Do Exist

There are many companies out there that are committed to education and giving back to the community. One such example is Target Corporation.

Through community outreach, Target is on pace to give $1 billion by the end of 2015 to support schools in communities nationwide.

Through partnerships with educators, Target helps students and their families engage in free arts and cultural events nationwide, provides reading and education programs to schools, and funds grants to K-12 schools to support educational filed trips, provide early childhood reading programs, and more. Continue reading

  • March 1, 2012
  • Other

Going Green: How to be an Eco-friendly School

Going green is made easy with the K-12 Online registration process.

One of the foremost concerns of this era is conservation. With issues in the media such as deforestation, overpopulation, greenhouse gas effect, global warming, etc., schools have been increasingly trying to educate the next generation about environmental conservation. Most schools have already started going green with integrated recycling systems: separating bins for plastic waste, metal waste, electronic waste, and paper. Using web-based technology school administrators can teach students by setting an example. But going green for schools can be very easy, starting with enrollment and registration.

Step 1. Eliminate unnecessary forms.

Traditional method: In order to cater to the different needs of each student and their family during enrollment and registration, schools include all possible information flyers and reports as well as forms in multiple languages within a bulky registration packet.

“It takes one 15-year old tree to produce half a box of paper.???

Eco-Friendly method: With web forms only can parents and guardians can access all pertinent forms, flyers, and reports via the web, they can also choose to read these in their native language by choosing from the multiple language options with online registration and enrollment.

Step 2. Eliminate unnecessary paper-based processes.

Traditional method: School office administrators make multiple copies of reports for teachers and multiple copies of documents to update student files. Additionally, as a student is in the enrollment process, copies of important documents must be made as a record for the school and or district.

“10,000 sheets of paper per year are used by a single US office worker???

Eco-friendly method: K-12 Online integrates and updates student information. Student information is sorted automatically and information can be accessed online during registration and after. Also, parents, guardians, and administrators have a document scanning option: they are able to scan and upload relevant documents into the student records.

Step 3. One paper, one student.

Traditional method: Millions of students per year return to school with bulky registration packets and/or multiple printed forms.

“17 million trees per year are cut down to supply fax paper (alone) for the US …???

Eco-Friendly method: Students return to school with a single, signed acknowledgement document.

“Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth’s land surface; now they cover a mere 6% and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years.???

Before switching to the K-12 Online student registration process, one district’s 17 page student handbook sent to all the students consumed 60 trees!

“One tree can filter up to 60 pounds of pollutants from the air each year???

Begin your school year saving valuable resources. Set an example to your students by going green and choose an online registration system that saves money, time and RESOURCES. Take the Free School Savings assessment to see how resources you can save by using a school management software that enables a paperless student registration system.

going green

Environmentally Friendly Tips for Schools

As a company that is committed to developing environmentally friendly school software that eliminates inefficient, costly and labor intensive paper processes, K12 Online has found five easy ways schools to go green, redirect resources, improve student achievement, and enhance the learning experience.

Here is a list of environmentally friendly tips that educators and parents can do to help facilitate a clean, green classroom and school environment. Continue reading

Educational Technology Is Advancing into a New Era—Are You?

Do you have an online school registration system to address the new era of educational technology? Take our free School Savings Assessment if you are a parent, school, or administrator looking to streamline the enrollment process for your school.

Private schools, independent schools, charter schools, and even entire school districts can all benefit from taking an online approach to managing school operations, and this is especially true when it comes to the registration process. While traditional registration is a paper-based, labor-intensive process that wastes both time and money, online registration for schools is highly efficient and promises to revolutionize how administrators manage school operations.

Below are five key benefits of using an online school registration system: Continue reading

  • February 27, 2012
  • Other

How Educational Technology Helps School Operations

Let’s face it: the rest of the world’s organizations and institutions are taking advantage of new technology and are leveraging it to maximize operational efficiency. So why should educational technology for schools be any different?

Private schools, independent schools, charters schools and even entire school districts can all benefit from educational technology to manage school operations; and this is especially true when it comes to the registration process. While traditional registration is a paper-based, labor-intensive process that wastes both time and money, online registration for schools is highly efficient and promises to revolutionize how administrators manage school operations.

Below are some of the key benefits of educational technology for schools: Continue reading

  • February 27, 2012
  • Other

How to be an Eco-friendly school

Environmental conservation is made easy with the K-12 Online registration process.

One of the foremost concerns of this era is conservation. With issues in the media such as deforestation, overpopulation, Greenhouse Gas effect, Global warming, etc., schools have been increasingly trying to educate the next generation about environmental conservation. Most schools have already integrated recycling systems: separating bins for plastic waste, metal waste, electronic waste, and paper. Using web-based technology school administrators can teach students by setting an example. Schools can be eco-friendly from the very start: during enrollment and registration. Continue reading

  • February 27, 2012
  • Other

Does Valentine’s Day have you seeing “RED”?

Valentine’s Day is the season of Red (and maybe a little pink), but who wants to operate in the “Red” all year long? Show your school how much you care about them this Valentine’s Day by helping them come out of the “Red” and into the “Black”.

Many schools are spending an enormous amount of money on their enrollment and registration processes. When you take into account the amount of paper required, number of staff members needed to work registration booths, and the amount of hours required to input information into the system, it seems silly to waste huge amounts of resources on an old, outdated, and cumbersome process.

Why not streamline the process with a more efficient, eco-friendly, and cost-effective approach that’s sure to help save money for your school. The K-12 Online school registration system offers a robust, cost-efficient system that helps schools do the following: Continue reading

  • February 13, 2012
  • Other
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