Student Support Application

    Mission of Ferndale Public Schools Foundation: To remove financial barriers so students can soar!

    ​Purpose: 
    The Foundation plays a vital role in supporting our schools by raising funds to bridge the gap between public funding and the additional resources required for student success. We partner with the Ferndale School District to meet the needs of students to support opportunities for educational growth. We seek to understand our community’s growing, diverse population and want to empower all students to soar not only while attending our schools, but beyond. We believe in the capacity for all students to reach their full potential, and we strive to alleviate some of the financial burden. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, religion, gender identity or expression, sex, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, age, or genetic information in our programs or activities.

    ​Focus of this Application: You Belong Cards and Student Fee Relief
    • Student Fee Relief for students not able to afford AP/ACT/SAT exam fees, ASB fees, field trips, or other fees pertaining to the typical school experience.
    • You Belong Cards, which are preloaded debit cards that teachers, para educators, and school staff can request to assist in the purchase of items needed for student success.
    Please write a few sentences as needed to support / describe this request. ​
Student Support Application Guidelines and Restrictions

Please note the following before submitting your request.

All applications must be submitted by a Ferndale School District (FSD) Staff Member with a valid FSD email address. Applications submitted by others will not be considered or reviewed.

We do not cover hotel stays or housing assistance fees.  For housing assistance please contact Ferndale Community Services at: Welcome - Ferndale Community Services (ferndalecs.org)  or the Opportunity Council at: Whatcom County CRC – Opportunity Council (oppco.org)

We will not provide preloaded cards for hotel/motel stays, rent assistance, beds, furniture, or gas cards.(Ferndale Community Services is also available to helps with gas cards and other items that do not pertain to the student's learning experience)

Student Fees:
We want to help remove student fees so that all barriers are removed for students to participate equitably.  This could include fees for food, books, field trips, AP class fees and ASB cards to name a few of the fees that are incurred each year during a student’s time in the Ferndale School District. The Foundation does not want to cover entire classrooms for field trips, tee shirts and such, but would be willing to pay for individual students that are not able to participate due to financial barriers.  This would hold true for a majority of the student fees. We are here to remove barriers so that students are able to participate in areas that might require a student fee. 

You Belong Cards:  
We are here to support educators and let students feel seen and heard. Preloaded store cards or  “You Belong” cards let students know that they are seen and help to remove the barriers and time to help get students the tools they need to come to school prepared to learn.  Teachers and staff can request the cards for students in need of items to help them be the most successful form of themselves during their educational journeys with the Ferndale School District.  These cards may be used for clothing, shoes, school supplies, personal hygiene items, food and other pre-approved items necessary to enhance the student learning experience. 

We will not provide preloaded cards for hotel stays, beds, furniture, or gas cards.

​(Ferndale Community Services is also available to help with gas cards and other items that do not pertain to the student's learning experience)

​For questions pertaining to "You Belong" cards and for Students fees or other Foundation questions, please feel free to contact Tracy Diehl directly at 360-201-8168 or email [email protected]