Giving Compass' Take:

• Magnify Community Pledger Michelle Boyers details her local philanthropy practices that promote reinvestment in East Palo Alto’s Ravenswood School District.

• How can you support your local school districts? What are the resources they need? 

• Read more about philanthropic needs at the local level. 


Tell us a little about you and your general approach to philanthropy.

My background is in leadership roles in large urban public school districts, in New York City and Boston, from the school and district level up to the state department of education.

More recently, I’ve worked in national education philanthropy, working to scale education reforms, particularly in teacher and principal support and school turnaround, as well as serving on boards of national and local education organizations. So I have a somewhat unique perspective as both an education leader and a philanthropist.

Now, my primary focus is in local education philanthropy. I tend to take a highly engaged, hands-on approach with a relatively small number of grantees.

How are you using your philanthropic dollars to help transform educational opportunities for local, historically underserved communities, like East Palo Alto, in what is an extremely challenging time?

Since the pandemic started, I have been investing in four primary areas: 1) emergency funding for basic student and family needs amid COVID-19; 2) support for teachers to improve not only their remote teaching practices during the crisis but also their overall instructional quality; 3) mental health supports for students; and 4) long-term strategic improvements for the district.

As in many historically disinvested communities, East Palo Alto families are experiencing a desperate financial and family crisis. And when the quarantine went into effect, teachers had to make a sudden and massive shift to remote learning, and it was extremely difficult. Neither teachers or students had the technology tools they needed.

Through the Ravenswood Education Foundation, the district set up an emergency fund to provide immediate assistance to families for technology, food, and cash.

Read the full article about local philanthropy in schools at Magnify Community.