When parents and staff at Winter Park Elementary School in Wilmington, North Carolina, realized that some children could not afford school activities, such as purchasing ice cream on Fridays, they decided to level the economic playing field. The school began eliminating all practices that required students to spend money to participate. Students no longer had to pay for ice cream, yearbooks, field trips, and school T-shirts. Funds for these efforts came from the PTA, individual parents, local businesses, and state and district allocations. The effort to promote socioeconomic equity is linked to the school's overall philosophy of providing an emotionally safe learning environment.