The Former Swedish Community School Parents’ Charitable Organization was founded in 2021 to continue the learning community that had been established in 1946 as the Swedish Community School. The objectives of FSCSPCO are:

• Provide a rigorous project-based curriculum to prepare students for solving individual and societal problems;

• Establish collaborative learning communities and encourage partnerships with all relevant stakeholders; 

• Develop the talents and capabilities of students in sports, culture, art, and innovative activities; 

• Identify students with special needs and provide them with the necessary support to respond to their learning and developmental needs; 

• Provide capacity building training to different stakeholders including, but not limited to, other teachers in the community.

To achieve these objectives, the board of directors at FSCSPCO runs the Kelem International School, which approaches education as a community commitment. Tuition-paying families benefit from reasonably priced schooling that is based on the Finnish curriculum--meeting each student where they are, and helping our children discover their talents, hopes, and dreams. Teachers find opportunities at Kelem I.S. to grow their differentiation skills, and broaden their approaches to education with in-school training, support from accreditation agencies, and as always, a strong community of educators. All of these benefits are shared with the surrounding woreda. That takes additional resources to ensure that every child in our community benefits from the long-standing presence of Kelem I.S. 

That is when Kelem Education Foundation became a reality. With a growing set of responsibilities came a greater need for funding to support this community initiative. The Foundation was incorporated as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in the US to help fundraise and manage grants for FSCSPCO projects. All fundraising supports community-, creativity-, and curiosity-driven education with our partners.