| |
Lawrence Township Education Foundation's new leadership
and recently inducted Trustees, from left: Pepper
Evans, President; Mary Barrett, Vice President, William
Madden, Cara Hyson, Lisa Lavery, Dan Wakeman, Kelly Bidle,
and Tim Corcoran, Executive Director Ivy Cohen.
Patricia "Pepper" Evans and Mary Barrett have
been named President and Vice President, respectively,
of the Lawrence Township Education Foundation Board of
Trustees. In addition, five new Trustees have joined the
non-profit's Board.
Evans, a 20-year resident of Lawrence with two daughters
attending the Lawrence Township Public Schools, has served
as a Trustee since 2005. She has a long history of local
community service most notably as the founding board president
of what is now Homefront, board member of the Lawrence
Nature Center and other local non-profits, Girl Scout
leader, and active volunteer in the town's schools. Evans
commented, "In these economic times, the need to
connect resources to our schools has never been greater.
I fully appreciate the benefits our outstanding public
school system brings to all Lawrence residents, not just
the families of school-aged children. The district goal
of an extraordinary education for all students is a worthy
one, and the Education Foundation strives to support that
by funding grants for excellence in our schools."
Barrett, who has lived in Lawrence since 1996, is an attorney with
the Lawrenceville firm Stark & Stark, representing homeowners associations.
She and her husband, Robert Andreas, have one daughter in the Lawrence
school district. Barrett was formerly a member of the Lawrenceville
Main Street Board of directors, heading of its Business Development
Committee. She has coached recreation soccer in the Township and is
involved in various community activities.
Also joining the Lawrence Township Education Foundation are: Kelly
Bidle, Ph.D., an Associate Professor of Biology at Rider University;
Tim Corcoran, a management consultant to global law firms; Lisa McCormick
Lavery of LML Consulting; William Madden of New Penn Associates; Cara
Hyson of The Lawrenceville School; and Dan Wakeman of ETS.
|
The Foundation celebrated education at its first ever
black-tie Gala as part of its 15th anniversary. The event
held at ETS broke all previous LTEF records, raising over
$100,000 for Lawrence Township Public School programs.
Programs funded
Event photos
|
Over 200 Lawrence Township Public School teachers have
received apples from their students. And their teachers
were thrilled! That's because these were very special
apples - not your ordinary variety of fruit! Each of these
apples represented a donation made to the local education
foundation in honor of individual teachers.
|
LTEF Kicked off its 15th anniversary celebration at Lawrence
Community Day at Village Park on Sunday, October 7. The
LTEF booth offered kids popcorn and a chance to have their
photos taken with a life-size cut-out actors from Disney's
popluar movie, High School Musical.
|
The first recipient of the Lawrence Township Education
Foundation (LTEF) Service above Self Grant has completed
its project and the results are on display at the Mercer
County Library in Lawrence . This award, given in memory
of local community volunteer William C. Nester, rewards
programs in the Lawrence Township Public Schools that
encourage young people to recognize the value of service
to their community. This past school year, the award was
given to the H.O.O.T program at Lawrence Intermediate
School. The fourth grade students, in conjunction with
the guidance department and parent volunteers, spearheaded
the service-learning project, Helping Out Others Together
(HOOT), with involvement from the whole school.
|
As the school year came to an end, trustees of the Lawrence
Township Education Foundation (LTEF) met to evaluate the
impact their funding had on Lawrence's public schools.
This year the foundation contributed $146, 928 to the
schools to make 31 programs possible. But the numbers
do not tell the whole story.
|
Thanks to a grant written by music teachers Sharin Rello
and Ron Taglairino, Lawrence Intermediate School students
will be learning how to play folk guitar in their music
classes. LTEF has purchased a set of 30 guitars and music
books to make this project possible. Each sixth grader
will spend twelve weeks learning how to play melody, harmony
and create an original score using their guitars. As Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, "Music is the universal language
of mankind."
|
 Over 200 Central Jersey
high school students and their teachers, including 20
sponsored by LTEF, had the unique opportunity to attend
Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School for Public
and International Affairs on for a day-long forum on American
democracy and global affairs.
|
If it is true that, "reading is to the mind what exercise
is to the body," then the minds of hundreds of Lawrence
Township students are getting plenty of additional mental
exercise, thanks to several grants recently awarded by
the Lawrence Township Education Foundation. These grants,
which total nearly $18,000, will help encourage elementary
students in Lawrence Schools to read more and help them
to build the skills to enjoy reading.
|
Several recent grants from Lawrence Township Education
Foundation (LTEF) to the Lawrence schools will enhance
the reading and writing skills of young Lawrence students
by exposing them to the work of experienced authors such
as Leo Lionni and Wendy Pfeffer, the latter of whom lives
in Pennington and will visit with students as part of
the grant.
|
Lawrence Township Education Foundation (LTEF) is sponsoring
a series of presentations of a nationally-known character
education program in Lawrence Township on Wednesday, February
21, 2007. The program, called Rachel's Challenge, calls
students and community members to embrace values of kindness
and compassion.
|
 Rider University's renowned Performing
Arts Department shared a behind-the-scenes look with 200
students from high schools throughout central New Jersey
for the first "Rider Presents" program. The program was
jointly sponsored by Rider University and the Central
New Jersey Education Foundation Partnership.
|
 Kids love math
in Lawrence Township! And as Lawrence Intermediate School
fourth grader Marifred Evans tell us, it has a lot to
do with the "Math Out of the Box" and "My Math Closet" programs.
Merrill Lynch recently contributed $5,000 to the Lawrence
Township Education Foundation (LTEF) to support this innovative
approach to math education.
|
The Lawrence Township High School is home to the new
Center for Humanities and Affective Instruction (CHAI)
- the first Holocaust/genocide educational resource center
ever established at a New Jersey high school. The center
is an initiative of school psychologist Nancy Hendrickson,
who created it with the help of a $3,500 grant from the
LTEF.
|
Lawrence Township Education Foundation celebrated the
partnership between the foundation and the faculty and
staff of the local public schools at ETS on May 9, 2006.
The partnership has helped to bring over 270 programs
into local classrooms since 1992. The Teacher Recognition
Event is an annual affair and all Lawrence teachers and
staff are invited to attend.
|
The inflatable StarLab, built by MIT and run by super-charged "John
the Astronomer," earned favorable reviews from Lawrence
Intermediate School students at the first LIS Science
Night on May 4th.
|
LTEF awards over $100,000 in grants to bring innovative
programs and worthwhile projects into district classrooms.
The funds support programs sponsored by Lawrence teachers
such as Jessica Heller, who proposed "Linking Science & Literature" and
was awarded $42,000 to purchase science-themed books that
complement the district's elementary school inquiry-based
science program.
|
The entire student body of the Lawrenceville Elementary
School was transported back to the 19th century when LES
received a visit from a great American hero, Harriet Tubman.
The visit was made possible through a grant written by
Eva Bostick Fuller and funded by the LTEF.
|
Greg and Michele Kelly have five children and know the
importance of a good education. This year the Kellys have
agreed to serve as the Annual Giving Chairs for LTEF’s
Friends of the Foundation drive.
|
The Mid-Atlantic Consortium of Education Foundations
(MACEF) has recognized
the LTEF web site for excellence amongst hundreds of its
peers. MACEF recognizes foundations, individuals and projects
for outstanding levels of achievement and describes LTEFnj.org
as a model for other foundations to follow.
|
This spring, two long-time trustees are leaving the Foundation
Board of Trustees as five local residents join. After
ten years of service each, Jim Ham and Rick Babick are
leaving the board. Carla Cheifetz, Patricia "Pepper" Evans,
Jennifer Gerlach, Bruce McGraw and Romy Toussaint are
joining.
|
The Lawrence Township Education Foundation was pleased
to receive a $5,000 contribution from Merrill Lynch in
support of one of its programs. "My Math Closet" will
create a lending library of mathematics games and learning
aids for use by Slackwood Elementary School students.
|
LTEF is always on the lookout for good ideas. And the
teachers in Lawrence public schools just keep coming up
with them. This Spring, LTEF is funding twelve of those
ideas for a total contribution of just over $50,000.
|
LTEF is partnering with local businesses to make Lawrence
Township schools the best that they can be. Amalfi's,
an italian restaurant in Lawrence, was one of the first
businesses to step up and support the LTEF as it launched
its Community Business Campaign.
|
The students of Lawrence Middle School commemorated Veteran's
Day on November 11 in a ceremony that culminated at the
school's flagpole garden which was funded by the LTEF.
The students learned the importance of honoring veterans,
and planted miniature American flags in the garden.
|
This Fall, Lawrence teachers brought their creative ideas
to the Lawrence Township Education Foundation and LTEF
responded with funding for all seven district schools
in most curriculum areas. The trustees of LTEF approved
funding for thirteen of the sixteen proposed projects
and awarded a total of $53,500.
|
The Central New Jersey Education Foundation Partnership,
a consortium of fifteen area foundations, joined on May
7th with the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International
Affairs of Princeton University to provide area high school
students an opportunity to explore the most pressing issues
of the day.
|
In collaboration with professional artists and musicians,
all 320 fifth graders created a series of Broadway-style
songs that explored the feelings and thoughts of characters
drawn from the book. The songs were ultimately presented
in a final dramatic performance by professional singers
from New York City.
|
Education Foundations, including LTEF, are featured in
this NY Times article for their efforts in easing the
budget woes of local townships. In fact, LTEF is working
with other NJ Foundations as part of the Central Jersey
Education Foundation Partnership.
|
LTEF has granted $24,000 in professional development
funds for Lawrence teachers seeking to enhance their skills
this summer. More than 110 Lawrence teachers will be attending
workshops as a result of the grants.
|
LTEF is pleased to announce that approximately $57,000
in funding was awarded on March 5, 2004 for 13 grants
covering Lawrence Township elementary, intermediate, middle,
and high schools. Congratulations to the grantees!
|
Rider University President Dr. Mordechai Rozanski recently
met with LTEF trustees to demonstrate the University's
support of its mission. President Rozanski provided a
generous donation from the University to further LTEF's
mission of providing extraordinary learning opportunities
for Lawrence Township's public school children.
|
Local attorney Dan Haggerty has agreed to serve as the
campaign chair for LTEF's Friends of the Foundation fundraising
initiative for 2004. He urges all community members to
join the LTEF to provide financial support to help teachers
and school administrators give the township's children
the best possible education.
|
The Lawrenceville MOMS Club recently contributed the
proceeds of its annual Preschool Options Fair to the Lawrence
Township Education Foundation The MOMS are Moms Offering
Support to Moms. Event chairperson Deborah Dauer noted
that the moms view the donation as another way to "support
our teachers, our schools, our children."
|
Recently Slackwood students gathered for an assembly
that kicked off Golden Heart Week as part of a year-long
grant to promote the six pillars of character: trustworthiness,
respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.
The pillars will be fostered through a variety of activities
taking place at all the schools.
|
LTEF is pleased to announce that approximately $50,000
in funding was awarded on October 31, 2003 for 11 grants
covering Lawrence Township elementary, intermediate, middle,
and high schools. Congratulations to the grantees!
|
Lisa Willever, a former teacher, led writing workshops
at our Elementary and Intermediate Schools. She has written
eleven children's books and is a partner in the Franklin
Mason Publishing Company, which was named Best New Business
in 2000. The visit was funded by the money raised in LTEF's
Million Penny Challenge.
|
The Lawrence Township Education Foundation (LTEF) received
its annual donation from The Lawrenceville School this
month in the amount of $65,000. The very generous donation
is an indication of the private school's commitment to
public education in Lawrence Township.
|
Teenagers climbing walls? Swinging from ropes? These
were just a couple of the activities that helped incoming
Lawrence High School freshmen get ready for their four
years at the high school during a recent weekend at Rider
University.
|
How often have you heard a child say (or have you wondered
yourself), "What's the point in the stuff you learn at
school?" Lawrence Middle School science teachers Dave
O'Neal and Betsy Conboy, in cooperation with Rider University,
and with support of a grant from the Lawrence Township
Education Foundation (LTEF), have found a way to demonstrate
to every student in the seventh grade how their science
lessons can be applied in the real world.
|
People who live in Lawrence Township take public education
seriously. In the past fiscal year, $107,000 in donations
from individuals and companies went directly to enrichment
programs in the Lawrence Township public schools.
|
Those lazy, hazy days of summer were a beehive of activity
for Lawrence public school's teachers and administrators.
And one of the reasons was the generous support of the
Lawrence Township Education Foundation (LTEF). The community-based
group funded staff participation in a wide variety of
professional development activities throughout the summer.
|
The Lawrence Township Education Foundation recently awarded
$5,000 to Lawrence High School to support a program, the
Teen Institute of the Garden State (TIGS), that encourages
students to make positive life choices without resorting
to the use of alcohol, tobacco or other drugs.
|
In March of 2002, the LTEF began to collect pennies to
commemorate the organization’s tenth anniversary
and to celebrate one million dollars in contributions
to the township’s public schools. And by the end
of the year, WE MADE IT!
|
By: Lea Kahn
, Staff Writer, Lawrence Ledger
Business donation pushes fund past mark. The Million Penny Challenge
was stalled. For weeks, the tally of pennies collected by the Lawrence
Township Education Foundation stood at more than 900,000 copper coins — until
a donation by the owner of Simply Radishing put it over the top.
|
A grant funded by the LTEF and ETS is providing high
school students with the opportunity to take courses in
child development, and put their knowledge to use as literacy
tutors for pre-school children under the direction of
Donna Porwancher, a Lawrence Township school psychologist.
|
In the second funding cycle of the school year, the Lawrence
Township Education Foundation (LTEF) awarded $31,000 to
the Lawrence Township Public Schools to fund five new
programs. The five newly-funded programs affect students
at all seven of the district schools and touch all areas
of the curriculum. This brings the number of foundation-sponsored
programs to one hundred and ninety five.
|
Fifth-graders in Jane Fetter's class at the Lawrence
Intermediate School are telling tall tales in the frontier
tradition about America's westward expansion. In the process,
they practice their writing and drawing skills, do historical
research, acquire technical expertise and have more fun
than you can imagine.
|
Fifth grade students at Lawrence Intermediate School
have been learning how poetry, music and art can be used
to understand their own culture as well as to communicate
with and appreciate the customs of people in other countries,
thanks to a grant written by 5th grade teacher Jane Fetter
and funded by the Lawrence Township Education Foundation.
|
Blog
