The Swampscott Education Foundation is back and will host its first event since reinstating on May 9 at Sam Walker’s American Tavern.

Parents of students in all grades are invited to the event, which will run from 7 to 11 p.m. and include light bites. Guests can purchase tickets for $40 a person at https://essex.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=4399. Proceeds from ticket sales will support Swampscott Public Schools.

“One of the goals of the Swampscott Education Foundation is going to be that we want to bridge information gaps between elementary, middle and high school families,” said foundation advisor Kacy Jauron. “There’s plenty of people who didn’t grow up in this town and don’t know what the middle school or high school look like and they have questions about what the future holds for their kids in Swampscott Public Schools.”

The event on May 9 is meant to allow parents of children of all ages and grades to “mingle and chat about their experiences in the Swampscott Public Schools.”

“Something we want to do for the town is making people aware of their future at the middle school or the high school before they get there,” Swampscott Education Foundation Vice President Emily Couture said. “We have a really strong PTO, but it’s making sure people don’t then get to fifth grade and all of a sudden go ‘What does my kid need? What is my kid interested in?’ This gives information when your kids may be in third or fourth grade, expectations and what programming we have available.”

Jauron said this work will be done in conjunction with the Swampscott Public Schools, especially with Superintendent Jason Calichman’s “major goal of…being more communicative and informative for kids to know their futures,” she said. 

“We have so many amazing programs that I think a lot of people don’t realize we have until their kid is already in the room, which is almost a little bit too late,” Couture said. 

BBeyond the mingling, President Ali Kelleher said she wants all residents to understand that “if the public school system thrives, the town will thrive” as well.

“A goal of the Swampscott Education Foundation is to connect the school community with the greater community,” Kelleher said. “The people that are parents of students are going to be the closest, most involved, but we also want to open the door and open the conversation so that people really do understand the value for everyone when our public schools are at their best.”

Jauron noted that a great school system, however, doesn’t “just happen with the (School Committee) approving the budget because that bare bones budget is not going to get us to public school excellence.” Instead, Jauron and the foundation are looking to go beyond the “minimums.”

“We need funding from other places too,” Jauron said, adding that the school budget should be “fully funded with what our school needs. That’s a given, but we also know that you can’t always account for everything that’s going to happen. Stuff comes up and there needs to be other people in the community willing to support the things that come up.” 

Kelleher said this funding can come in places like “we need to find $10,000 if we want our high schoolers to be able to have this robotics program that’s important.” It’s the “additional programs” on a macro-level that current funders like the Parent Teachers Organization (PTO) may not focus on. The group brought up ideas of funding going toward speakers, band equipment, or to start a financial literacy program, “things that are going to be additional but that these kids should be getting.”

“We want our public schools to be excellent. We can have the best teachers and the best buildings and the best things,” Jauron said. 

To ensure that the foundation continues beyond just Jauron, Kelleher and Couture, the three have partnered with the Essex County Community Foundation to keep the programming going for years to come. The transitioning part is what made the last iteration of the Swampscott Education Foundation shut down, according to Jauron. 

“This is something we care about,” Kelleher said. “We think it makes a lot of sense and we plan to stay involved with but also staying more long-term.” 

The Swampscott Education Foundation is looking for sponsors and partners at this time, Jauron said. Jauron also mentioned that there will be additional events with the Swampscott Education Foundation this summer, including a summer soiree and a family funfest.