June 6, 2012 — edMatch Adds Key Supporters
June 06, 2012
edMatch Adds Key Supporters From SF’s Business and Education Communities
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, June 6, 2012 – edMatch (www.edmatchsf.org), a grassroots organization working to generate additional revenue for San Francisco’s public schools, today announced the addition of two key supporters, Rodrigo Santos and Ken Tray. By pledging $25,000, Rodrigo Santos has joined the edMatch Founders Circle, while Ken Tray has been named to the edMatch Advisory Board in recognition of his tireless advocacy on behalf of San Francisco’s public school teachers and longtime commitment to the success of San Francisco’s public schools.
“We are delighted that Rodrigo Santos and Ken Tray will join edMatch’s Founders Circle and Advisory Board,” said Todd David, Founder and Executive Director of edMatch. “Rodrigo’s generous donation will help to fund edMatch’s day-to-day operations so that we can continue to focus our efforts on providing all of San Francisco’s public schools with a much-needed source of additional funding, while Ken’s addition to the edMatch Advisory Board provides us with the invaluable support of one of the most trusted and experienced education advocates in San Francisco.”
Rodrigo Santos
Since receiving his Masters in Structural Engineering from Stanford, Rodrigo Santos, has lived and worked in San Francisco, growing Santos & Urrutia, which he founded in 1988, into one of most successful structural engineering firms in the Bay Area. Santos credits education as the foundation of his success and over the course of the past 25 years, he has consistently sought to provide support for education on all levels as a way to give back to the community and provide opportunities for others to succeed. He is currently a candidate for a seat on the Board of Trustees of San Francisco City College.
Santos’ generous pledge will aid edMatch in its mission of providing financial relief to every public school in San Francisco — reaching every public school student in the City — through its innovative fundraising and disbursement model. edMatch is guided by the “100% Impact” model, with the goal of having the Founders Circle underwrite all of the organization’s operating costs so that 100% of every dollar donated goes directly to San Francisco’s 112 public schools.
Ken Tray
Since 1967, while serving as a teaching assistant in a Head Start classroom, UESF Political Director Ken Tray, knew that teaching and counseling would be his path to living out the social justice ideals of his generation. A former counselor in residential treatment programs for troubled youth and community organizer with the North Mission Association, Ken formally entered the SFUSD teaching ranks in 1985. Early on at Balboa High Ken recognized that the voice of organized teachers is necessary to gain the support educators and students need to thrive in the classroom. Since then, chosen by his peers, he served on the UESF Executive Board and starting in 2003 as Political Director. Under his political leadership UESF drove home the Prop A Parcel Tax victory, succeeded in most school board elections and furthered an undeniable presence for educator’s voices in San Francisco’s political landscape.
As the newest member of the edMatch Advisory Board, Ken will draw upon his deep well of experience as an educator and education advocate to provide the organization with valuable advice and guidance on key issues facing the City’s schools.
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About edMatch
edMatch is a grassroots organization run by parents of public school students who are building community partnerships to generate additional revenue for San Francisco’s public schools and challenging corporations and private donors to “match” funds raised by parent organizations. edMatch then distributes the matching funds to all of the City’s 112 public schools on an equal, per-student basis, while also sharing best practices and strategies for success. Each school then decides locally how to use those funds to achieve the greatest positive impact on student achievement. edMatch is a fiscally sponsored program of the San Francisco School Alliance.