Dear Friends,
At Fulcrum, we believe that every child deserves the opportunity to learn, grow in faith, discover their gifts, and experience the belonging that comes with being part of a Catholic school community.
For many families, however, that opportunity can be difficult to access when a child’s learning needs require resources, expertise, or support that a school may not yet have the capacity to provide. Too often, families hear, “We can’t,” when what they hope to hear is, “Let’s figure out how.”
That challenge has inspired one of the most innovative and ambitious investments in Fulcrum Foundation’s history. The Fulcrum Foundation is proud to announce a landmark initiative made possible through the generosity of an anonymous donor. Side x Side (“Side By Side”) is a long-term strategic investment in partnership with the Office for Catholic Schools designed to expand access, foster belonging, and strengthen the capacity of Catholic schools throughout the Archdiocese of Seattle to serve a broader continuum of learners.
Grounded in the Catholic belief that every child is created in the image of God and deserves the opportunity to flourish, this initiative will provide schools, educators, and leaders with the resources, expertise, training, and support needed to remove barriers and create new pathways into Catholic education.
Side x Side will help schools expand their ability to serve a wider range of learners, including students with learning differences, neurodiverse learners, students with intellectual or physical disabilities, students requiring social-emotional support, high-capacity learners, and others whose needs may not fit neatly into a single category.
The name Side x Side reflects how this work will be accomplished:
- Families alongside schools.
- Classmates alongside classmates.
- Teachers alongside experts.
- School leaders alongside one another.
- The Fulcrum Foundation alongside the Office for Catholic Schools.
- An entire Catholic school community walking alongside every learner.
This initiative is more than an investment in individual programs or short-term interventions. It is an investment in lasting institutional capacity: educator training, better-equipped schools, shared resources, sustainable systems, and a culture increasingly prepared to welcome more learners with confidence and excellence.
In partnership with the Office for Catholic Schools, we are working to transform the Catholic education system itself, building structures that will support students and families for generations to come.
The impact extends far beyond students who may require additional support. Inclusive educational practices, stronger teacher preparation, improved systems, and deeper family partnerships have the potential to enhance learning and belonging for every student in a school community.
Research conducted during the development of this initiative challenged the assumption that inclusion and excellence are competing priorities. Instead, it revealed that stronger inclusive practices can strengthen educational outcomes for all students. In that sense, Side x Side is an investment in the future vitality of Catholic education.
It is about helping more families find a pathway into Catholic schools.
It is about equipping educators with the tools and confidence they need to serve all learners.
It is about helping schools live more fully into their mission.
And it is about building systems that will continue serving students long after this investment has been made.
We now have an extraordinary opportunity to help more Catholic schools confidently say “yes” to families seeking a Catholic education for their children.