We Stand Together for our Schools, our Teachers and our Students

The Op-Ed below was published in The Winston-Salem Jounral and coauthored by Marni Eisner (executive director of the Education Foundation of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools); Mark Owens (president and CEO of Greater Winston-Salem Inc.); LaTida Smith (president of The Winston-Salem Foundation) and Kellie P. Easton (co-CEO of Action4Equity).

Every day, joy and excellence shine in our classrooms. Teachers inspire, students achieve, and families support one another. This is who we are—and now is the moment to come around our schools, lift them up, and make visible the many ways to give back. From supply drives to book access to advocacy, collective efforts are growing to meet immediate needs, spark long-term solutions, and ensure a successful 2025–26 school year.

Our four organizations, together with other foundations, nonprofits, education institutions and community advocates from across Forsyth County are part of an Education Collaborative taking action and creating pathways for our community to engage with our schools, teachers, and students bringing your time, talents, and treasures. 

The goal of the collaborative is to activate both short- and long-term strategies for community engagement and support that will strengthen and support our schools, teachers and students. As a first step, we invite you to visit our newly created website, www.AllInForOurSchools.org to learn about community efforts already underway. 

The independent Education Foundation for Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools has collected Amazon Wish Lists from local schools highlighting supply needs and has established a tax-deductible fund for direct school support, managed in partnership with The Winston-Salem Foundation. Bookmarks has launched its “Every Shelf, Every Student” initiative with each public school in the district having a curated list of urgently needed books available for purchase. The Winston-Salem Foundation has provided grant support to advance the search for a new superintendent and also created the WSFCS Student Success Fund to ensure students have the supportive resources they need this school year and Action4Equity has launched a series of Manifesto workshops to offer critical information and engage community voice in solutions to help shape the future of our local public education. 

We don’t have all of the answers, but we know this: our children deserve stability, inspiration, and opportunity. There is much more to do, and the collaborative will continue to update the community as additional initiatives mobilizing people, money, supplies, advocacy, and partnerships in benefit of our schools are added to the site. We encourage the community to let us know what they are doing via the new website.  

The urgency cannot be understated nor can the long-term consequences if we don’t act. Our workforce of tomorrow is sitting in classrooms today. Strong schools fuel strong communities and strong economies. If we want Forsyth County to remain competitive, we must step up to invest in education. This is our moment to rally behind public schools—not just because it’s right, but because it’s essential to our community’s vibrancy and growth.

What’s happening right now is not who we are, and not who we want to be. We have the people, the passion, and the resources to respond. Together, we can create a vision where every child thrives, every teacher feels supported, and every family trusts that public education is a pathway to opportunity. Rebuilding accountability is essential, and this moment also creates opportunity: a chance to innovate, reimagine resource-sharing, and advocate for systemic change at local and state levels. 

Despite current challenges, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools recently celebrated its highest graduation rates—a reminder that excellence endures.

This is not the end of our story, it’s the beginning of a collective movement to ensure that every child has the resources, inspiration, and opportunities to succeed. This is the time to come around our schools and show them love.

To learn more about ways to support students, donate for supplies and books, or get involved, visit www.AllinForOurSchools.org.

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