Achieve Foundation of South Orange and Maplewood

Thanks to our friends at the South Orange-Maplewood Education Association for sponsoring this year's Kids Fun Run activities at the ! See you Saturday 9/21!

Thank you to Lead Sponsor The Able Baker for your support of programs that serve students. Join us for the on Saturday, September 21st!

Happy August! Check out Achieve's July newsletter to see what we've been working on this summer. https://email.4elbows.com/t/y-77E336A7D2A044E22540EF23F30FEDED

After co-directing Achieve's race last year, Lela Moore has joined our Board of Trustees! Lela has a background in journalism (including 15 years at The New York Times) and is currently pursuing a Masters of Information degree while working part-time at the Maplewood Memorial Library. She's an avid runner, serves on the board of the South Mountain YMCA, NJ and is active with the Tuscan PTA, where her son is entering 2nd grade. We're thrilled to have her!

Gabriel Conover, one of four new trustees to join Achieve's Board this month, has lived in the area for 12 years and is excited about supporting learning enrichment. He says programs such as robotics and trade-focused electives were how he developed his interest in engineering and project management. Welcome, Gabriel!

Veronica Olazabal has joined the Achieve Board of Trustees! Veronica has 20 years of experience with foundations, teaches at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, and has 2 kids at CHS. You might also recognize her from the Sandwicheria Pereuvian Eatery, which she and her husband run. Welcome, Veronica - we're thrilled to have you on our team!

Join us in welcoming Elizabeth Leonard Evangelista as one of four new Achieve Foundation trustees! Elizabeth has been very active on the Seth Boyden Demonstration School's PTA since 2017 (including 2 years as president), and and this year will have 3 kids at MMS. She has experience in fundraising, compliance, editing for a newspaper, and looks at everything through an equity lens. We are psyched to have her talents on our Board.

Join us for the 22nd annual on Saturday, Sept. 21st at 9am. Currently seeking sponsors who want to be part of this great community-building event and help us raise funds for Achieve programs that support our students and educators all year! Learn more about sponsorship levels starting at $150 here:https://achievefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2024-Newstead-5K-sponsor-level-benefits-listing.pdf

We had a great year-end BOT meeting in late June, complete w/ a custom Achieve cake (thanks to baker Mary Andrews Brown)! Grateful for the 21 trustees and 4 part-time staffers who worked all year to support SOMSD students and educators (including those who joined on Zoom or left before we snapped this pic!).

Today marks the end of Achieve’s fiscal year. If you haven’t donated since last July 1st, a gift today can help us support more educators and impact more students in the coming school year.

All good things must come to an end. We bid a fond farewell to these six volunteers who are cycling off the Achieve Board of Trustees on June 30th after a combined 24 years of service to the organization (and the SOMSD students we serve)! Thank you Mary Ellen Maher Dawkins, Olivia Yearns, Josh Adler, Isabelle S. Felix, Joan Ragno and Amanda Mazz. We will miss you!

We're so proud of all we've accomplished and celebrated this month (and year!). Read all about it in our June newsletter.
https://email.4elbows.com/t/y-B3158FFA61F103F52540EF23F30FEDED

Thank you to everyone who supported the Achieve Foundation of South Orange and Maplewood this year. Your gift 💝 to Achieve funds our volunteer tutoring program, innovative classroom grants, support for STEM and Arts education, and social emotional learning initiatives for all 7,000+ students throughout our ten schools, from pre-K through 12th grade.
Follow us on social media this summer to view the impact of your giving, including our popular posts! Forget to make your gift? Visit our website today – it’s never too late but we'd welcome your participation before your June 30th fiscal year end so we can Achieve even more next year! Have an amazing summer!
https://achievefoundation.org/donate/

Wishing all the students, staff and families of the SOMSD a safe, relaxing, fun summer!

We appreciate all the SOMSD faculty members who do so much for our students throughout the year. Have a great summer -- you deserve it!

Congratulations to all the students who are graduating and moving up this week, especially the Columbia High School Class of '24!
We're proud of you!

Order your tributes by tomorrow (6/12) to ensure delivery before school ends!

Order your tributes today! Here's an easy way to thank the teachers and support staff who've made a difference in your student's life. Suggested donation of $10/tribute or send up to 20 notes of appreciation for just $50.

It was wonderful to celebrate some of our amazing Vanessa Po***ck Music Initiative scholars yesterday. These CHS student musicians inspired us with their stories of how their teachers and these opportunities for individual instruction or upgraded instruments/equipment have enabled them to fully embrace and explore their musical gifts.

It's not too early to order year-end tributes for any SOMSD teacher or support staffer. Order yours by Wed. June 12th for delivery before school ends! https://achievefoundation.org/order-teacher-tributes/

A team of SOMS teachers, (Amy Rowe, Talaya Hampton and Kyndell Pierce Tuttle, shown here with Tawauna Stukes and Eileen Neri from Achieve) will attend the Summer Writing Institute for Racial Equality in Literacy in Washington, DC thanks to a 2024 Riecke Fellowship.

Congrats to MMS speech teacher Diane Leick--shown here with Achieve executive director Eileen Neri (L) and Riecke chairperson Tawauna Stukes (R)--received a Fellowship award for an in-depth online workshop that will reinforce the skills she gained last year at a Lindamood-Bell Visualizing and Verbalizing seminar.

It’s a beautiful day for a street fair! Stop by and say hi - we’re at MayFest (near Gigi’s) today!

Thanks for sharing news about the superstar SOMSD staffers who will be pursuing exciting PD programs this summer!

Achieve Announces 2024 Riecke Fellowships Providing Funding for Professional Development Programs - The Village Green From The Achieve Foundation of South Orange & Maplewood: Staff members from five South…

Congrats to Marshall reading specialists Megan Hellthaler and Erin Bolstad, who received a to head west (with their cowboy hats!) to the Big Sky Literacy Summit in Bozeman, MT this summer. There they will study teaching strategies based on the Science of Reading, and will come away with new techniques to inform culturally responsive teaching and collaborative learning communities.

CHS Guidance Counselor Jennifer McDowell will attend the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators Conference in Milwaukee this summer thanks to a Riecke Fellowship. Her learning there will help guidance staff advocate for families as they navigate the FAFSA, and supports the District’s Access & Equity goals. Ms. McDowell (center) is pictured with Tawauna Stukes (L) and Anne Wessel (R) of Achieve's Riecke Committee.

Congrats to Clinton Elementary School Special Education Teacher Kate Facto (shown here with Riecke Fellowship chair Tawauna Stukes), who will attend National SEED New Leaders Training this summer!

Check out Achieve's recap of a busy April: Maker Madness happened, Riecke Fellows announced, new grant app opened, teacher tributes available, and more.
https://email.4elbows.com/t/y-6F2CCE8D7142A9EE2540EF23F30FEDED

Thanks to Ms. Bloch for the shout-out to Achieve and the Vanessa Po***ck Music Initiative at the Clinton School concert last night! And congrats to all the student musicians!