Building Belonging: Crescent Elk Families Lead the Way

October 18, 2025

It was a special Saturday morning at Crescent Elk Middle School. More than forty students, families, and staff came together to assemble twenty brand-new picnic tables, transforming an empty outdoor area into a welcoming space where students can sit, eat, and connect.

Before this project, there were few places for students to gather and socialize during lunch or recess. That changed when the Crescent Elk Local Organizing Committee (LOC)—a group of parents and caregivers engaged in school-based organizing—led a listening campaign and survey to hear directly from students. The message was clear: they wanted a place to belong.

With support from the Klamath Promise Neighborhood (KPN) grant, $34,000 in site-specific funding helped purchase picnic tables and benches proudly labeled “Crescent Elk Middle School.” Two of the tables were custom-built to be ADA-compliant, and four additional benches will be installed along the school’s front pick-up and drop-off line later this year.

What began as a simple idea turned into a joyful community event. In less than three hours, the Crescent Elk community worked together to assemble all twenty tables—sharing food, laughter, and teamwork along the way.

But the day was about more than building tables. It was about building community. Projects like this show what’s possible when families and schools work together to create lasting change. Change that money alone can’t make. Through listening, collaboration, and shared decision-making, the Crescent Elk community strengthened the bonds that make schools thrive: connection, care, and shared responsibility for every student’s success. 

The new picnic tables stand as a symbol of what’s possible when students and families have a voice in shaping their schools, proof that organizing around a simple idea rooted in belonging, can strengthen schools and bring people together.