Business owners and managers, along with community members and families from across Puget Sound met on April 25 to give their support for local education at the seventh annual Friends of Renton Schools foundation fundraising breakfast.

The nearly 325 people in attendance were presented information and demonstrations on what the Renton School District has been up to with its Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) as well as music programs, after-school programs, and many more, all funded by donations to the Friends of Renton Schools foundation. The organization is a special fund under the Renton Community Foundation.

According to a press release, the event, which is the foundation’s biggest fundraiser, garnered more than $140,000 in donations at the breakfast and through on-line donations. That money, coupled with the recent donation of nearly $66,000 by Walker’s Renton Subaru through the national Subaru ‘Share the Love’ campaign, means the total raised for programs that benefit students at every level in the district totals nearly $231,000.

Renton resident and local TV personality Meeghan Black emceed the breakfast which also included the Seattle Seahawks mascot Blitz.

The audience was provided insight on what students in the district have been learning with a snapshot of some of the gains the district has made in SAT participation (up by 700 students), increases in high school students taking more rigorous Advanced Placement course or enrolled in International Baccalaureate courses, and other student gains.