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SEF's mission is to maintain and enhance the high quality of a Summit, New Jersey public school education through community funding of innovative and essential educational programs, a close working relationship with the school district, and careful review, evaluation and financial oversight of supported initiatives.

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Thanks to You
Renowned children's picture book author Patricia Palocco will visit all elementary schools next March! 
 
Nine classrooms at LCJSMS received a make-over this spring.  Read Mr. Block's update!
 
Our Casino Night fundraiser raised over $150,000!
 
 
Did you know
2012 fall grants totaled over $342,000.  See the full list. 
 
SHS' literary magazine receives national honors. Learn More!
 
By the end of 2014, Mandarin will be available to students from 6th-12th grade due to SEF grants. 
 
SEF is in the news.  Check out the latest stories.
 
 
Think Big
 
 
Endowment Fund to reach close to $4 Million by end of 2015. To learn more about this fund, click here.
 
Over $212,000 from the Endowment Fund has been doled out to support grants. Read about recent grants funded.

See SEF for Yourself

On May 17, 2013 Dan Gutman, popular children's author of 109 books including the My Weird School series, The Baseball Card Adventure series and the Genius Files series visited Jefferson School. He gave three presentations during the day to 275 first though fifth grade students from Jefferson and Washington Schools. Dan ate lunch with 10 students, selected from an essay contest entitled, "Why do you want to have lunch with Dan Gutman", and he signed books throughout the day. Every child received a Dan Gutman autographed bookmark. Read on to learn more!
 
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  • Classrooms In The 21st Century
    Node Chairs
    Innovation comes to our middle school classrooms in the form of new desks and movable white boards.  Providing a flexible learning environment to accommodate group discussions, lectures, or small group work, the Node chairs support whatever the curriculum delivers.  SEF is proud to support this cutting-edge design used on college campuses throughout the country!  To learn more about the thinking behind the 21st century classroom, read the attached article detailing the changes happening in the LCJSMS language arts classrooms.
     
     
     
    Stability Balls  
     
    Stability balls also provide new seating options for our elementary classrooms.  Washington school teacher Cindi Abramov introduced the balls in her classroom in January 2012. Their success has been undeniable and other schools have followed suit.  Using stability balls in the classroom improves posture, strengthens the core of the body, and helps focus attention and on task behaviors throughout the day.  It also allows for movement within a learning environment that is not disruptive, all the while improving handwriting.  Read a recent Washington Post article about the use of stability balls in the classroom.
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  •  [ALERT] 
    Congratulations to Ms. Cynthia Vitale, the first recipient of the "Summit Educational Foundation NORA RADEST Award for Excellence in Education".  Ms. Vitale embodies the SEF mission and enhances the quality of education in the Summit Public Schools.  Nora Radest (left) and Amy DiSibio, SEF co-president (right), celebrate with Ms. Vitale (center) at the SHS Awards Ceremony
    on June 6, 2013.
     
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In Their Words
"Every time I see Dr. McCauley work it is worth fifteen hours of graduate level music class. He has the ability to teach and inspire like no other person. He is an incredibly dynamic teacher and the students got so much out of it.” --Steven Rapp, SHS music teacher commenting on guest conductor funded by SEF grant.  Read more about this grant.
 
"Without the SEF grant supporting the Quintessence
Literary Magazine at SHS, students would miss out on the opportunity to celebrate each other's work."--Emma Cramer, Editor-in-Chief, 12th grade

 

"The new books SEF funded for our mystery unit are like birthday presents to our readers.  There is an energy and excitement when I tell them we have new books for our classroom library."--Dana Folk, 3rd grade Washington teacher

 

“Human Rights Day was an eye opening experience and introduced me to real life events as they are actually occurring.  To be exposed to someone like Ron Haviv and his images was a learning experience that I will never forget.”--Matthew Miller, 12th grade
 
“Due to the pace and demands of the curriculum, it is easy for a teacher to rely on ‘that’s the way it has always been done.’  Whereas, I perceive SEF as the Jiminy Cricket on my shoulder, a source telling me to make a change, a wise decision to benefit and impact our future, our children.”–David Mimnaugh, 4th grade Lincoln-Hubbard teacher 
 
"The Science Research Program gives me the unique opportunity to explore my interests in depth, which I would be unable to do otherwise.  I have been able to research a topic that I'm interested in and create an authentic project around it.  Going to the science fairs was an excellent experience."
Kristin Miller, 11th grade