CREATING POSSIBLE

Summit Educational Foundation's (SEF) 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.

SEF BY THE NUMBERS

39 Years of Partnering with Summit Schools

4,000 Students Positively Impacted Every Year

$11.7M in Science, Literacy, Math, Technology and Arts Education Grants Since 1986

$3.8M to Fund 331Grants in the Last 5 Years

$1.2M for STEAM Initiatives in All 5 Elementary Schools and the Middle School the Last 5 Years

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ABOUT SEF

Learn how SEF enhances

education in Summit

SEF IMPACT

See how SEF is supporting students and teachers

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Click to link to About Page

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June 2025
Board of Education honors SEF
with a Certificate of Appreciation

Summit Times
"Summit Class of '73 Raises Over $73k for SEF"

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SEF Board of Trustees 2025-26 Announced
On June 3rd, the SEF Board of Trustees approved its slate for the upcoming 2025-26 school year, effective immediately. Outgoing Co-Presidents Melissa Madden & Heather Thomas handed over the reins to Susan Daniel & Chelle Donnelly, both of whom have served as Grants Chairs and on Grants committees prior to joining the Board. Susan & Chelle will oversee SEF’s exciting year ahead, as it kicks off its 40th anniversary in 2026.

For the last year of their terms, Melissa will be an At-Large board member, spearheading 40th anniversary efforts, and Heather will serve as a key advisor to the grants process as Grants Review Chair. Rachel Callahan adds Vice President to her role as Treasurer.

SEF is pleased to welcome several new members to its already talented slate of volunteers: Alison MacMillan (Assistant Communications Chair), Kelly Bachman (Development Chair) and Jenni Shah (Secretary). The Board is also excited for Brayton teachers, Denise Touhey and Caitlin Dunn, to join as representatives.

The Board of Trustees would like to thank outgoing members, Lesley Arlein, Tim Erday and Lauren Post, as well as Matt Carder and Laura Madden, for their exceptional service on and valuable contributions to the Board.

Please visit sefnj.org for on-going updates to SEF’s Board & Committee Members. Interested in joining an SEF Committee? Reach out to info@sefnj.org for more information!

We look forward to an exciting year ahead!

SEF Board of Trustees 2025-26
*Executive Committee in bold

🏆 Congratulations to Amy Sweeney! 🏆
SEF proudly honors LCJSMS Instructional Facilitator Amy Sweeney as the 2025 recipient of the Nora Radest Award for Excellence in Education!

With 14 years in Summit Schools and a key role in impactful SEF grants—including the district-wide Panorama Student Success platform—Amy is a true leader, innovator, and role model.

👏 Thank you, Amy, for your dedication to student success and educational excellence!

🔗 Learn more: sefnj.org

#NoraRadestAward #ExcellenceInEducation #SummitNJ #SEFGrants #LCJSMS #InnovativeEducator #FutureReadySchools #TeacherAppreciation

SEF Spring 2025 Grant Highlights

Thanks to our amazing supporters, the Summit Educational Foundation awarded $260,809 to fund 26 grants that will empower student learning across all grade levels!

✨ Highlights:

✅ Panorama data platform rollout
✅ “Teaching with Dignity” workshops
✅ Adaptive climbing wall for special education
✅ Ukuleles, author visits, and theater tech
✅ Robotics, biotech research & NASA-led science projects

📄 View the full grant list here: https://www.sefnj.org/

Help us fund the next wave of innovation: CONTRIBUTE TO SEF TODAY!
hashtag#SEFGrants hashtag#SupportEducation hashtag#SummitSchools hashtag#STEAM hashtag#SEL hashtag#GrantsInAction hashtag#fundedbysef

Summit Educational Foundation Announces Spring 2025 Grants

$260,809 Awarded to Summit Public School District

Summit Educational Foundation (SEF) is pleased to announce 26 grants awarded in its Spring 2025 cycle. The Foundation approved funding that will impact the entire Summit public school system and totals over $260,000 to support goals in content areas of technology, learning environment, social-emotional learning and achievement gap.

Pictured L to R: SEF (incoming) Assistant Grants Chair Amanda Darnowski, SEF Grants Review Chair Chelle Donnelly, SEF Assistant Grants Chair Laura Lameo, Summit’s Superintendent Scott Hough, BOE President Melanie Cohn, SEF Grants Chair Susan Daniel, SEF Co-President Melissa Madden (not pictured, SEF Co-President Heather Thomas)

View all of the Spring 2025 Approved Grants and help fund future grants via link in bio.
#grantsinaction #summitnj #fundedbysef

Repost from @summitschoolsnj :

Thanks to the Summit Educational Foundation, Author Candace Fleming was able to visit all of our schools in April! Fleming held assemblies for students at the elementary schools and the middle school, and spoke with creative writing students at the high school. She also signed students’ copies of her books!

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CREATING POSSIBLE

SEF BY THE NUMBERS

ABOUT SEF

SEF IMPACT

GET INVOLVED

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