Community Foundation announces new initiative focusing on Education and Families

Foun­da­tion News

Com­mu­ni­ty Foun­da­tion announces new ini­tia­tive focus­ing on Edu­ca­tion and Families

May 5, 2023

JACK­SON, WY –The Com­mu­ni­ty Foun­da­tion of Jack­son Hole announced today that it is launch­ing a new Edu­ca­tion and Fam­i­ly ini­tia­tive with Sys­tems of Edu­ca­tion, a col­lec­tive impact net­work rep­re­sent­ing over 30 orga­ni­za­tions engaged in edu­ca­tion in Teton Coun­ty, Wyoming.

Sys­tems of Education’s col­lec­tive actions aim to make out-of-school time more equi­table, acces­si­ble, and enrich­ing for all stu­dents and fam­i­lies in Teton Coun­ty, WY. Their mem­ber­ship includes non­prof­it orga­ni­za­tions, gov­ern­ment agen­cies, and businesses. 

In part­ner­ship with the Com­mu­ni­ty Foun­da­tion, the Edu­ca­tion and Fam­i­ly ini­tia­tive will hire a back­bone leader for Sys­tems of Edu­ca­tion who will be respon­si­ble for the fol­low­ing activities:

  • Pro­vid­ing strate­gic guid­ance toward the initiative’s com­mon vision 
  • Guid­ing, coor­di­nat­ing, and facil­i­tat­ing ini­tia­tive activities
  • Cul­ti­vat­ing com­mu­ni­ty engage­ment in sup­port of the initiative’s work 
  • Estab­lish­ing shared mea­sure­ment and learn­ing process­es and frame­works to eval­u­ate progress 
  • Advanc­ing fund­ing to sup­port the initiative
The Back­bone Leader of Sys­tems of Edu­ca­tion will join a team of ini­tia­tive lead­ers at the Foun­da­tion includ­ing Kate Schelbe, Back­bone Leader of Teton Behav­ioral Health Alliance and Wendy Mar­tinez, Direc­tor, Hous­ing Solu­tions. This ini­tia­tive is aligned with the Com­mu­ni­ty Foundation’s 2022 – 25 Strate­gic Plan which pri­or­i­tizes act­ing on root caus­es of com­mu­ni­ty issues and putting fund­ing to work on com­mu­ni­ty-iden­ti­fied needs.

​“Over the past 12 years, Sys­tems of Edu­ca­tion has been sup­port­ing local work­ing fam­i­lies and edu­ca­tors as a vol­un­teer-dri­ven net­work,” Com­mu­ni­ty Foun­da­tion Board Chair, Julie O’Hal­lo­ran said. ​“This col­lec­tive is ready to begin its next chap­ter, and we are con­fi­dent that the addi­tion of a ded­i­cat­ed staff per­son will help to accel­er­ate their impact in our com­mu­ni­ty.“

The Foun­da­tion has been involved with Sys­tems of Edu­ca­tion since its found­ing in 2012. This ini­tia­tive is fund­ed in part by a lead gift from Alum­bra Inno­va­tions Foun­da­tion as part of their Place-based Teach­ing and Learn­ing Ini­tia­tive that sup­ports the devel­op­ment of cur­rent and future gen­er­a­tions of learn­ers and lead­ers who are deeply con­nect­ed to and engaged in the eco­nom­ic, social, and envi­ron­men­tal vital­i­ty of their local and glob­al communities.

​“We believe that future gen­er­a­tions who are deeply con­nect­ed to the place they call home are more like­ly to take inspired actions that ben­e­fit their com­mu­ni­ties,” said Christy Wal­ton, Com­mu­ni­ty Foun­da­tion announces new ini­tia­tive focus­ing on Edu­ca­tion and Fam­i­lies Founder of Alum­bra Inno­va­tions Foundation. ​“We’re excit­ed to sup­port col­lec­tive efforts to increase engage­ment oppor­tu­ni­ties for stu­dents and families.”
Community Foundation announces new initiative focusing on Education and Families