Achieve Supports the Work of Teacher and Administrators
The Achieve Foundation values its collaboration with all educators in the School District of South Orange and Maplewood. Each year, Achieve awards Teacher Grants, Administrator Grants and Riecke Teaching Fellowships to worthy applicants. Funding requests we receive from educators inform our program development and fundraising to best serve our mission of maximizing teaching and learning.
Teachers may also request Achieve Volunteer Tutors for struggling students, lead tutor training sessions, serve as school tutoring sight supervisors, or participate in planning events such as Maker Madness. Achieve welcomes you and your ideas!
Teacher and Administrator Grants
See a list of all 2017-18 Teacher Grants HERE.
Teacher Grants: Achieve’s hallmark program inspires teachers to propose innovative projects that will have an impact on the learning experience for their students. Some grants have been catalysts for innovation in the academic program.
Any educator in the district may apply for any amount in mid-October. Team and interdisciplinary projects are welcome. Proposals are reviewed by Achieve’s grants committee, and awards are made in early December to be used in the spring or the following fall.
Administrator Grants: Achieve awards grants to district administrators for special projects that benefit a school, grade level or department. Grants may be used for staff development, student enrichment or remediation and educational materials. Administrators may apply in early March for an April deadline. Funds are awarded in early May.
Achieve’s grant applications are easy to complete, and help and advice are available. All proposals must be approved by the applicant’s principal or supervisor and received by the deadline to be considered. Educators may apply as often as they wish, evaluations of prior grants must be submitted before new applications are considered.
DONATIONS TARGETED FOR TEACHER GRANTS:
Generous contributions from PTA’s and the community have supported Teacher Grants for technology, science labs, musical instruments, school gardens, “maker spaces,” and much more.
Direct Grant Funding; After Achieve allocates its funds for Teacher Grant awards in the fall, the community is invited to increase that amount. In December and January, donors choose from the list of approved grants that need additional funding and contribute toward them in any amount. In 2017-18, Direct Grant Funding added $34,140, bringing the total amount of Teacher Grant funding to $102,517.
Honor Your Teacher Tributes: This spring campaign enables families to order cards for teachers and other staff members, printed with their children’s words of thanks that Achieve delivers at the end of the school year (or any time of year).
2018 Damion Frye, Seth Boyden Principal, New Digital Mixer 2018 Jameel Misbahuddin, STEM Supervisor, Physics Union Mathematics at Rutgers University for professional development in experiential learning techniques 2017 Ann Bodnar, Clinton Elementary School principal: Clinton Leader In Me 2017 Dara Gronau, Maplewood Middle School principal: MMS Maker Space 2017 James Manno, Supervisor of Fine Arts: NJ Arts Festival 2016 Kimberly Hutchinson, Jefferson Elementray School principal: Teachers College Summer Reading Program 2016 Mark Quiles, Seth Boyden Elementray School principal: Bridging The Digital Divide 2015 Charles Ezell, CHS assistant principal: Facilitators for Columbia 2025 2015 Kevin Mason, Tuscan Elementary School assistant principal: Robotics Club 2014 Bonita Samuels, Marshall Elementary School principal: “Smart” Classroom 2013 Jeff Truppo, Maplewood Middle School principal: SOMSD’s First One-to-One Team 2012 Faye Lewis, Columbia High School assistant principal: MAC Scholars Summer Enrichment Academy 2012 Judy LoBianco, district supervisor of health, physical education and nursing services: Linking Physical Education Curriculum to Assessment 2011 Paul Roth, district chief information officer: Algebra IPad Project for Bridge to Success 2011 Kimberly Beane, district supervisor of K-5 math and science: Singapore Math Strategies Conference 2010 Judith Hanratty, district supervisor of English language arts: Teachers College July Writing Institute 2009 Michael Healy, Columbia High School assistant principal: Bridge to Success 2009 Gary Pankiewicz, district supervisor of English language arts: Student-Centered Summer Reading 2008 Maryrose Caulfield-Sloan, Jefferson Elementary School principal: Grade 3 Multi-Modal Learning Center 2008 Thomas Gibbons South Mountain School principal: Reading Support Software Training 2008 Patricia O’Neill, Clinton Elementary School principal: Principal’s Center for Educational Leadership Seminar 2006 Janice McGowan, Columbia High School assistant principal: AVID Conference for Administrators 2005 Kristopher Harrison, Maplewood Middle School principal: Middle School Team Renewal 2004 Renee Pollack, Columbia High School principal: Bridge to Success
Administrator Grants Awarded:
$87,142
for 23 grants since 2004
Teacher Grants Awarded:
$937,835
for 940 grants since 1999
Reicke Fellowships:
$69,511
for 53 teachers since 2004
Guidelines and Criteria for Achieve Foundation Teacher Grants
10 Tips for Writing a Successful Achieve Foundation Grant Application
Tips on Creating an Itemized Budget Teacher Grant Application
Summer Professional Development –
Riecke Teaching Fellowship
Michelle T. Riecke was an active community volunteer who served on the SO/M school board for six years, including a two-year term as board president. Shelley believed that teachers are our schools’ greatest asset and are key to maximizing student achievement. Following her death in 2003, her family and friends created an endowed fellowship program in her memory and entrusted it to the Achieve Foundation.
The Riecke Fellowship program makes awards to educators in the SO/M school district who seek to advance their teaching abilities over the summer by acquiring new knowledge and skills to use in traditional classroom settings and beyond. Riecke Fellows begin the school year with new skills that lead to improvements in practice, curriculum and student achievement. At the conclusion of the fellowship, Riecke Fellows share what they have learned with their colleagues. The program has provided nearly $70,000 in fellowships since 2004.
The fellowship:
- Instills educators with a passion to teach, using innovative and creative teaching practices in the classroom setting and beyond.
- Leads to the exchange of new ideas, strategies and materials among educators so that knowledge gained will benefit students throughout the district.
Fellowships are awarded to individuals (up to $3,000) and teaching teams (up to $5,000). The number of grants and total amount awarded is determined each year based on the merits of the proposals and the availability of funds. The application is available in March with an early April deadline.
2018: Elana Ris, Seth Boyden School, Supporting Mathematical Discourse in the Classroom, The Bank Street College in New York. 2018: Samantha Selikoff, middle school STEM instructor, Midwest conference of the American Society of Engineering Education. 2018: Claire Sinclair, Tuscan School, Training Teachers in Restorative Practices, Bethlehem, PA. 2018: Christy Skawinski, Tuscan School, International Literacy Association Conference, Austin, TX. 2017: Yves Hart, Julie Matthews, and Chelsea Olsen, Universal Design for Learning – Social Justice, University of Massachusetts, Boston 2017: Line Marshall, This World Music Summer Study in Cuba, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 2016: Diane Leick, American Speech Language Association (Remote learning) 2016: Kristin Pei and Suzanne Lanzafame, Reading and Writing Project, Columbia Teachers College, NY 2016: Danielle Perrotta, National Science & Technology Association STEM Forum/Expo, Boulder, CO 2016: Claire SInclair, Melissa Koes, Christine Fischetti, Martha O’Connor, Jessica Wheeler, Rebecca Vezza, and Laura Verniero, Handwriting Without Tears, Princeton, NJ 2016: Christy Skawinsky, Summer Institute on the Teaching of Reading, Columbia University Teachers College, NY 2016: W. Scott Stornetta, Drew AP Institute in Computer Science Principles, Madison, NJ 2015: James Cotter, College Board AP Annual Conference in Austin, Texas 2015: Lynn McGlotten and Liz Harris, MathCamp: Integrating the Common Core Shifts Into Math Instruction in New York, N.Y. 2015: Bebe Greenberg and Donna Grohman, Summer Institute at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project in New York 2014: Victoria Schodowski, Universal Design for Learning, Center for Applied Special Technology in Wakefield, Mass. 2014: Debra Cecacci, Elizabeth Frascella, Susan Froelich and Mary Leocata, Authentic Feedback with Grant Wiggins, Authentic Education, in Hopewell, N.J. 2013: Arlene Aguirre and Katherine Fearon: Center for Applied Linguistics’ What’s Different About Teaching Reading to Students Learning English as ELL’s in Washington, D.C. 2013: Mark Richman, College Board AP Summer Institute in Statistics at Middlesex Community College in New Jersey 2012: Mark Harley and Heidi Welner, NASA’s Johnson Space Center Clouds Zero Gravity Program in Houston, Texas (program later postponed by NASA) 2011: Ann Bodnar, Joseph Ferriero, Yolande Fleming, Shea Levin and Marian Power, NCTM Algebra Readiness for Every Student Institute in Baltimore, Md. 2010: Patricia O’Connell, Scholastic Read 180 National Summer Institute in Nashville, Tenn. 2010: Phillip Lester, National At-Risk Conference (March 6-9, 2011) in Savannah, Ga. 2009: Mary Brancaccio: Creative Non-Fiction: Telling the Truth at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. 2009: Cathrine Evans, Maureen Davenport, Sue Donatelli, Kathy Shelffo and Lisa Heumann, Responsive Classroom Institute in New York, N.Y. 2008: Bebe Greenberg, Donna Grohman and Jennifer Smalletz, The August Institute on the Teaching of Writing at Columbia University, New York, N.Y. 2006: Peter Trebour and Thomas Whitaker, Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Conference in San Diego, Calif. 2005: Noah Brauner, Computer-Aided Design Technology at New York School of Visual Arts in New York, N.Y. 2005: Kate Pfiefer, Counseling in Culturally Diverse Communities, Minuchin Center for the Family in New York, N.Y. 2004: Eve Kingsbury, Angela Medise and Valerie Sharp, National Differentiated Instruction Conference in Las Vegas, Nev.
Achieve Volunteer Tutor Program
Achieve’s acclaimed tutoring program improves the academic performance of children who are struggling with their schoolwork, by pairing them with adult and peer volunteers. Begun in 1997, the initiative based on the notion that free tutoring, offered by trained volunteers, might help many children, who otherwise would not be able to afford this service, to advance toward their full academic potential.
District teachers refer students, who they believe would benefit from the help of a volunteer tutor. Each year, about 200 tutors — 50 adults and 150 students — are trained to assist 250-300 students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Achieve’s tutors help students overcome academic challenges and gain confidence. Moreover, the students who serve as Achieve tutors reinforce their own learning and develop leadership skills.
Achieve’s Volunteer Tutor Program coordinator manages the program and arranges tutor-tutee matches. Teachers in the school district lead required training workshops and supervise tutoring sites in district schools.
Testimonials
