SOWA is excited to partner with the following organizations for the BSK Expanded Learning Initiative:

Place-Based Collaboratives

All-Stars After Hours

The All-Stars After-Hours Collaborative provides after-school and summer programming in Federal Way for middle school youth. Through tutoring, STEM enrichment, mentoring, and wellness activities, the program supports academic success, social-emotional growth, and leadership in an inclusive, equity-centered environment.

Auburn Youth Engagement Collective

The Auburn Youth Engagement Collaborative, a partnership of two schools and a community organization, provides year-round academic support, mentoring, and project-based learning for students in local housing communities. Programs connect students, families, and schools while offering experiential learning and leadership opportunities grounded in racial equity and social justice.

Birch Creek FEED Collaborative

The FEED Collaborative provides Birch Creek youth with academic support, mentoring, enrichment, and project-based learning. Programs offer structured opportunities to explore interests, build confidence, strengthen social-emotional skills, and connect with families and caring adults, supporting long-term academic success, positive identity, and community engagement.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Bellevue Spiritwood Manor Clubhouse

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Bellevue’s KCHA Clubhouses (Eastside Terrace, Hidden Village, Spiritwood Manor) partners with local organizations to provide year-round, equitable out-of-school programming in housing communities. Through academic support, STEAM, social-emotional learning, hands-on activities, and a bike program, youth build skills, confidence, and long-term success.

Bright Futures Creative Collective

The Bright Futures Creative Collective Collaborative, a partnership of multiple organizations, provides hands-on enrichment and expanded learning to meet the whole needs of students. Partners deliver arts, STEM, physical education, sports, social-emotional learning, and Double Dutch programming, prioritizing students furthest from educational justice across schools in Central, Southeast Seattle, and Renton.

James Baldwin Reads and Counts

The James Baldwin Reads and Counts Collaborative provides enrichment and academic intervention through the James Baldwin Community Learning Center program at a school in the North Seattle area. It offers reading and math support, STEM enrichment, and career and interest development in arts, athletics, and performing arts.

New Futures Supporting Students in Southwest King County in the Arts and Technology

The New Futures Collaborative supports students in Southwest King County by providing accessible, culturally responsive enrichment in technology and the arts. Through hands-on, student-driven learning, youth in local housing communities build social-emotional and academic skills.

The S.H.A.P.E. (Strengthening High-Needs Achievers through Personal and Physical Enrichment) Collective

The S.H.A.P.E. Project Collaborative provides year-round expanded learning opportunities for youth in Skyway and Renton communities. Through school and field-based programs, young people engage in academic, personal, and physical enrichment in safe, welcoming spaces that primarily serve BIPOC, multilingual, and underrepresented youth.

Yesler Youth Serving Collaborative

The Yesler Youth Serving Collaborative provides year-round after-school and summer programming for youth in the Yesler Terrace community. The collaborative combines partner expertise to offer academic support, social-emotional learning, creative arts, technology exploration, leadership development, and mentorship in safe, engaging, skill-building spaces.

About our funding process: SOWA relies on a peer review process for reviewing and scoring applications. Among the 23 peer reviewers who reviewed BSK Expanded Learning applications, 87% identify as BIPOC and 96% share identities and/or lived experience with the priority populations of youth served. After participating in an orientation and anti-bias training, reviewers independently reviewed and scored a subset of applications using a scoring rubric aligned to funding priorities outlined in the RFP. Small groups then met to discuss and come to consensus on a score for each application. SOWA recommended high-scoring applications for funding to King County, with added consideration for licensed childcare programs, geographic equity, and representation of target populations of youth served. Final decisions were made by King County Best Starts for Kids.