Earlier this week, retired Seahawks Wide Receiver and Players Coalition Task Force and Seahawks Players Fund member Doug Baldwin visited four local Seattle schools to announce education grants being awarded from Players Coalition and Seahawks Players Equality & Justice Action Fund. Aki Kurose Middle School, Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, Northgate Elementary School, and Rising Star Elementary School were all presented with grants on behalf of the two organizations. These local school-level grants were awarded with the objective to further enhance the STEM programs in each school. From making programs currently implemented more robust to creating new STEM based school projects, these grants will provide more access to STEM experiences for the students of each school.
Additionally, a district-level grant was presented by the Players Coalition to the Department of African American Male Achievement (AAMA) to develop a Student Leadership Council, which will focus on elevating African American male students’ voices, providing mentorship to the elementary males, and designing and implementing community strategies and projects. In combination the school and district level grants total more than $75,000.
“As a new department at Seattle Public Schools, we’re in those important early stages of development, and this grant from the Players Coalition is a huge boost for us,” said Dr. Mia Williams, AAMA Executive Director. “Developing a student leadership council is vital to our work.”
According to Baldwin, the four schools are perfectly situated to further Players Coalition’s 2019-2020 education objective of bridging the technology and resource gap in low-income communities and schools and the Seahawks Players Fund’s efforts to enhance education and leadership opportunities. These schools are vibrantly diverse and culturally rich, with the majority of students being students of color.
For example, Martin Luther King serves 280 kindergarten – 5th grade students and houses several early learning programs (Head Start, Developmental Preschool and a Seed of Life Preschool). The school’s demographic data (49% African American, 29% Asian, 10 % Hispanic, 8% Multi-racial, 2% Pacific Islander and 2% White) highlights their diverse school community. In addition, 76% of students receive free and reduced lunch and 11% homeless and 38% are English language learners.
“Players Coalition and Seahawks Players Fund are both committed to providing access to equitable education opportunities for youth in low-income communities,” said Players Coalition Task Force and Seahawks Players Fund Member, Doug Baldwin. “We are passionate about providing opportunity and access to quality modern education where it currently does not exist or is difficult to access, because every child deserves an equitable educational experience.”
According to officials, the resources provided by these grants, these students, who are too often the furthest from educational justice, will be given an opportunity to receive an increased exposure to the STEM field.
Established in 20017, The Seahawks Players Equality & Justice Action Fund was created in order to create lasting change and build a more compassionate and inclusive society. The fund – which is overseen by Seahawks Pro Bowlers KJ Wright, Bobby Wagner, Duane Brown and Doug Baldwin – annually awards grants to organizations working in the areas of equality, justice, education and leadership.
