Education Foundation Presents District with $55K

The Princeton Education Foundation, a non-profit organization established to encourage private philanthropy to the public school system, presented the Princeton Public Schools with a check for $55,635 at the District’s Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, July 23, at the Valley Road School Administration Building.

The gift comprises contributions from several different sources and is to be used in various ways:

• $25,000 represents the annual end of year gift from the Princeton Education Foundation. Of this gift, $8,000 will go toward outfitting one of two enclosed classrooms at the new John Witherspoon Middle School Media Center with needed technology and equipment and the remaining $17,000 will be used for robotics and computer science academic enhancements at the middle school and Princeton High School;
• $8,135 comes from the ongoing PowerUp! fundraising campaign and will cover the cost of outfitting the second of the two enclosed classrooms at the John Witherspoon Middle School Media Center with needed technology and equipment. 
• $10,000 is provided by a grant from Dollar General and will be used to support the extension of the Parent/Family University Program at John Witherspoon Middle School to the elementary schools. The program is for English language learners and their families.
• $9,500 is provided by a grant from the J. Seward Johnson 1963 Charitable Trust and will be used to support the Princeton High School Ideas Center.
• $3,000 was given by Bristol-Myers Squibb for the Student Investigative Project, a science-inquiry program in the elementary schools.

“The Princeton Education Foundation would not be able to offer this support to our schools were it not for our many generous sponsors and donors, and we are extremely grateful to them,” said the Foundation’s executive director, Adrienne Rubin.  “We are very fortunate to live in a community that not only values education, but is willing to take an active part in ensuring educational excellence for all of our students.”

With February’s donation of $22,212 to the school district and $11,146 in Mini-Grant funding to teachers for innovative projects, the Princeton Education Foundation has provided $88,993 in financial support for the Princeton Public Schools this past academic year.

The Princeton Education Foundation is a bridge between the Princeton community and its public schools, encouraging private philanthropy to enhance public education for students at all levels. Since its inception in 1995, the Foundation has contributed more than $1.2 million to the Princeton Public Schools for capital improvements, educational programs and teacher support.

—Princeton Education Foundation