Revitalized Education Foundation aiming high
Millstone group is already funding
innovative programs
JERRY WOLKOWITZ Millstone Foundation for Educational Excellence officers (l-r) Mary Ann Friedman, secretary; Matthew Siegel, vice president; and Kevin Wittman, president, discuss upcoming fund-raising plans for the Millstone school district, including a Family Fun Magic Show later this month and a Harlem Wizards basketball show in March.
MILLSTONE — Most families in today’s society need to live by a budget so that they are assured of meeting all their basic needs. Perhaps, with careful planning, they could have some extra funds available for special purchases and life-enhancing experiences.
School districts operate by the same means, and Millstone Township is no exception. However, in a district where the budget hasn’t been meeting with voter approval and is pared down to cover very specific elements, there are no extra funds for special programs or additions to the curricula.
State aid is reserved for school districts in predominantly lower-income areas, leaving districts like Millstone, a fairly affluent and growing community, to rely on grants, donations and other types of funding to provide more than is delineated in the school budget.
A number of people in Millstone have responded by re-forming the Millstone Township Foundation for Educational Excellence. In a recent interview with foundation trustees, President Kevin Wittman described the group’s attitude as, "Instead of just wringing our hands, let’s get active."
They have already put the registered nonprofit organization to work in the fulfillment of their simply stated goal: To reward teachers with grants to implement their innovative teaching ideas.
Foundation Vice President Matthew Siegel, who is also chairman of the group’s grant committee, explained that his committee receives grant applications from teachers in the Millstone school district and decides which proposals most closely meet the criteria for a grant award.
Each proposal is given a score based on its ability to enhance and become a long-term component of the curriculum. It also must not overlap the existing program.
The foundation was delighted to receive 19 applications, of which two were recently selected for grant awards and will be implemented in the third- and fourth-marking periods of the current school year.
A $702 grant was awarded to the "kindergarten team" at the elementary school, for its "Jumpstart Reading" program. Using interactive computer software, the program will be available to help 150 kindergarten pupils with all aspects of the reading process and covers a wide range of ability.
"The children can go through the program at their own pace," said Siegel. "It’s innovative, broadens the curriculum, and complements a pilot program already in place."
The second grant, for $1,296, was awarded to middle school music teacher Heather Philhower and will provide funding for books and instruments for an innovative program called "World Drumming."
The program will be an interdisciplinary experience involving African and South American musical rhythms, as well as world geography and culture, musical expression, and the ability to read music.
Siegel noted the contributions of Millstone’s assistant school superintendent, Dr. Mary Anne Donahue, as a consultant to the selection committee.
Although the tragic events of Sept. 11 caused the foundation to put some of its fund-raising activities on hold, it is now ready to establish a grant pool from which future grants will be awarded. The next awards are slated to be presented this spring for programs to be implemented in the following school year.
The original fund-raising group in Millstone was formed in the early 1990s as a vehicle to provide computers for the schools. By the end of the decade it had become dormant, but the idea was resurrected in May, and trustees were recruited. From a core base of 20 participants, officers were elected.
Mary Ann Friedman, secretary of the foundation, also sits on the Millstone Board of Education. Her husband is a Clarksburg native, and they have two children, a fourth-grader in the elementary school and a senior at Allentown High School.
She has worked for the school PTO in the past and explained that there is a difference between the fund-raising work of the PTO and that of the Foundation for Educational Excellence.
"It’s two different roads leading to the same end," she said. The PTO funds a broad range of activities not covered by the school budget, while the foundation’s focus is on teacher support and curriculum enhancement through programs that need private funding.
"There is room enough for both organizations to coexist," said Friedman.
"Over time our mission will become more clear to the community, and the PTO will be able to position itself more clearly as well," Wittman commented. He also said Millstone Superintendent Dr. William Setaro is greatly encouraged by the works of both groups and hopes both organizations will continue to do as much as possible to enhance the school experience for Millstone students.
Wittman and his wife, Laura, who is also a trustee of the foundation, have lived in Millstone for nine years. Their two daughters attend first and fifth grades in Millstone. While discussing his leadership role in the foundation and his active participation in the community, he described the need for a combination of seriousness, creativity, and physical energy to "get this [foundation] off the ground."
He also lamented the apathy of voters, particularly with regard to the Millstone school budget. "Twenty-five percent is unacceptably low participation in voting," he said. It is imperative, he explained, that the community understand the value of the elementary and middle school system.
Friedman concurred and said her wish is that the community would become more involved in budget discussions to better understand what they are being asked to vote for.
Although Siegel and his wife have been Millstone residents just 11/2 years, he feels great enthusiasm for his new home and was ready to lend his professional experience as a financial consultant and past experience with charitable foundations to this private effort to enhance the school system.
Fund-raising events are planned later this month and in March. There is also a campaign to attract charter donors who would, in essence, become the "pillars" of the organization. Corporate sponsorship is also being explored.
The initial fund-raising event is billed as the Family Fun Magic Show with Eric Paul, a comedy magician and juggler. The first of three shows will take place Friday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. at the Millstone Elementary School cafetorium.
Two more shows will take place on Saturday, Jan. 26, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., also at the cafetorium.
Tickets are $8 for children and $10 for adults. They may be obtained in advance by calling Heidi at (609) 259-0783 or Louise at (609) 208-1233.
On March 9, at 2 p.m., the foundation will present the Harlem Wizards comedy basketball show at the Peddie School gymnasium in Hightstown. Ticket information is available at the numbers listed above.
For more information or to make donations, the the Millstone Foundation for Educational Excellence may be reached at P.O. Box 462, Clarksburg, NJ 08510.