Record smashing parent participation in PCEF’s Beat the Call

Tailside Elementary School, part of the winning ways that the Park City Education Foundation raised money for Beat The Call. Photo: PCEF.

PARK CITY, Utah — Park City School District parents participated in record-breaking numbers for the Park City Education Foundation (PCEF) ’s “Give $180 to Beat the Call” (BTC) fall fundraising campaign. The annual campaign raises critical funds to support eight key classroom-centered, research-based initiatives.

FINAL BTC 2021|2022 STANDINGS:
1st: $5,000 → Jeremy Ranch Elementary School with 84% parent participation
2nd: $3,000 → Trailside Elementary School | 75%
2nd: $3,000 → McPolin Elementary School | 75%
4th: $1,000 → Parley’s Park Elementary School | 46%
5th: $1,000 → Ecker Hill Middle School | 37%
6th: $1,000 → Treasure Mountain Jr. High | 31%
7th: $1,000 → Park CIty High School | 19%

PCEF’s long-time BTC partner, The UPS Stores Park City, provides thousands of dollars in grants each year. The funds are distributed to schools with the highest percentage of parents who contribute.

“We are incredibly grateful to Becky Giauque, who owns The UPS Stores Park City,” said Abby McNulty, Executive Director of Park City Education Foundation. “Becky has partnered with us for many years, and her grants provide a major participation incentive – an incentive which gets funneled directly back into our schools to provide yet more opportunities for students and teachers!”

This year, Jeremy Ranch Elementary School (JRES) earned the $5,000 top prize, thanks to a whopping 84% parent participation rate. Trailside (TSES) and McPolin Elementaries (MPES) tied for the second-place grant money; each will receive a $3,000 UPS Stores Park City Grant.

“The UPS Stores Park City support PCEF’s Beat the Call each year because of what an awesome organization it is for our school district,” said Becky Giauque, owner of The UPS Stores Park City.” As local business owners, we want to give back to our community as much as possible, and because PCEF’s programming positively impacts every single student in PCSD, we feel like this is a perfect partnership!”

Red Banjo Pizza provided discounted pizzas for in-classroom parties to the winning classes within the schools.

Support for PCEF is more critical than ever: not only does Utah have the lowest public education funding in the country, 96% of Park City’s state-collected education tax dollars – that’s about $110 million – is distributed to other districts.

Thanks to the community’s support, PCEF can bridge some of the funding gaps to provide programs our families have come to depend on. If school district families donated by September 24th, they ‘Beat the Call’ – and didn’t get a text during the PCEF Phone-a-thon.

PCEF’s eight key initiatives were created to inspire all Park City students to successfully reach their academic and lifelong potential. They include:

• Preschool: Half-day for three years; full day for four years
• EVA: Elementary Visual Arts
• Afterschool: K- 9th grade
• STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Math
• PCCAPS: Park City Center for Advanced Professional Studies (PCHS juniors & seniors)
• Bright Futures Park City: First-generation college coaching program
• Classroom & Express Grants: Classroom Grants support academic success, the whole child, and innovation; Emergency Express Grants fund immediate in-person and online learning needs
• Innovation Lab: Student and teacher voices in education