The 8th annual Park Academy Auction, An Evening with Todd “Hammer Semmes”, held June 22, 2023 was another successful evening for our students, raising over $325,000!
The stakes for our students, and so many students in Oregon, are too high. We may be “Big Dreamers and Overachievers” but with our community’s help we do, we can and we will make a difference in the lives of students struggling with dyslexia and other language learning differences. Because of this generous support, every action we take, every lesson we teach, every minute of every day is approached with urgency and intentionally. Park Academy is a place where safety and joy, converge with the science of education and reading to create real and lasting change in a student’s life trajectory. Of course we want to do more, of course we want to stretch and grow and save as many students as we possibly can. With the ongoing support of our donors, we will!
Hammer’s story of success is one we hear often. In spite of all the people telling him he couldn’t, that he wouldn’t succeed, he endured, his “disability” is his super power. Sadly, we also hear the opposite, individuals whose educational experience traumatized them in a way that hindered their futures. That is why our actions must have purpose and that purpose has to put student wellbeing and learning first. And, we have to act urgently, our students and our families can’t afford for us to act passively, to take our time. The Hammers, Ethans, and the Ellas of the world need us right now.
Thank you for impacting our students lives!
