Back to School Consortium honored for community leadership

From left, Back to School Consortium volunteers Leslie Brooks, Gayle McDougall-Treacy, Rob Beem, Tanya Schaeffer, Sarah-Ann Woodfield and Lisa Sharratt, and Brian Schultz, executive director of Shoreline Schools.

The Back to School Consortium, the group of Shoreline and Lake Forest Park community organizations which supports Shoreline School District students in need, was among those honored by the Washington Association of School Administrators (WASA) at its Community Recognition Awards luncheon held May 11 at the Puget Sound Educational Service District in Renton.

Each year, WASA 110, which includes Shoreline, holds a luncheon and an awards ceremony to honor community leaders nominated by their respective districts.

More than 1,000 students receive needed school supplies and clothing at the annual Shoreline School District Back-to-School event each year. This year's event will be held Saturday, August 27 at North City Elementary.

Registration for this year’s event began May 16 on the Back to School website. 

This all-volunteer event represents the collaborative effort of the Back to School Consortium members to support Shoreline and Lake Forest Park families in need with backpacks filled with school supplies donated by the community, clothing assistance through community donations to the Shoreline PTA Council clothing bank The Works, haircuts by the staff of James Alan Salon and a resource fair. The Lake Forest Park Rotary Club prepares and serves food to those participating in the event.

Back to School Consortium Members include Center for Human Services; City of Shoreline; Dale Turner Family YMCA; Hopelink; Ronald United Methodist Church; Shoreline Breakfast Rotary; Shoreline Community Care; The Works of Shoreline PTA Council; Shoreline School District and the Readiness to Learn Program; Turning Point; and The Vineyard.

--Craig Degginger, Shoreline Schools