Summit Educational Foundation Announces Spring 2025 Grants Over $260,000 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. Highlights of approved grants include:

District, Primary Centers & Elementary Schools

● District-wide rollout of Panorama platform to streamline data collection, improve student support and enhance decision making around attendance, behavior and academic performance. $50,500

● Provide funding for “Teaching with Dignity” for all elementary administrators, teachers and parents. This grant will introduce strategies to nurture and foster dignity through workshops and presentations. $16,760

● Fund the installation of an adaptive rock climbing wall to enhance interactive and sensory experiences for preschool and kindergarten special education students. $8,325

● Fund three grants for continued support of “The Science of Reading” at the primary centers and all elementary schools. Each of these grants implements the Sonday System to support the need for visual, auditory, tactile and movement based learning to support all learning styles. $19,866

● Provide Music Therapy for our special education students at Jefferson Elementary and Wilson Primary Center. “Jammin’ Jenn” will enhance students’ communication, socialization, behavior and emotional regulation with fun and engaging music therapy sessions. $11,200

● Introduce Ukuleles to our elementary music program. Ukulele lessons will promote musical literacy, fine motor skills and vocal development. $2,555

● Fund a visit from Sylvia Chen, author of Tricky Chopsticks. Sylvia will visit Jefferson and Washington Elementary schools, blending literature with STEAM and cultural themes. $1,875

● Continued support of Theater Technology by providing communication headsets for LCJSMS and elementary schools improving event coordination, logistics and student engagement in our popular technical theater program. $6,375

Middle School & High School

● Purchase VEX IQ robotics bundles in order to broaden our popular robotics and coding classes at LCJSMS. $5,864

● Purchase of furniture and specialized prototyping equipment to complete the transformation of the LCJSMS Innovation Lab. $42,840

● Extend the license for Formative, a program that enables teachers to collaborate on common assessments, track student growth over time against learning standards and modify assessments to accommodate different learning needs. $18,920

● Provide funding for the Biotechnology Research Program. This program will incorporate the Waksman Student Scholars program (Rutgers University) and Barcoding Life’s Matrix Program which will bring Biotechnology Research opportunities to students at Summit High School. $18,191

● Promote scientific literacy through the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program. Students in this program will investigate and study Earth System science through their own research projects as well as those led by NASA. $2,275

● Fund professional development opportunities for our College Counselor that will result in more college counseling expertise, networking opportunities and promote recognition of SHS to post-secondary institutions. $10,000

A complete list of approved Spring 2025 grants is available at www.sefnj.org.