SOMEF: Welcome to the South Orange=Maplewood Education Foundation

What's New?

"A Night on the Towns" on May 23, Surprise guest: CHS alumna, LAURYN HILL treated the packed audience at "Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance, Gotta Give" to 3 tunes. The star-studded crowd-pleaser raised over $40,000 toward the CHS auditorium renovation. Read all about this exciting event here and here.

Get the back story on "A Night on the Towns;" Visit a Rehearsal and see a few photos from the event.

School’s out June 17! Place your order for Honor Your Teacher and Staff Tributes by June 7! These personalized tribute cards make the best (and easiest) end-of-year teacher gifts, and they support innovative education in South Orange & Maplewood at the same time. Learn more.

2010 Teacher Grant Recipients: Evaluation form is online.

The word is out: we'll soon become ACHIEVE Foundation of South Orange & Maplewood. Same great programs, new identity for a new era. Watch for details.

Welcome to the South Orange-Maplewood
Education Foundation, soon to be known as
ACHIEVE Foundation
Private funds for public education

The not-for-profit South Orange-Maplewood Education Foundation (SOMEF) is committed to raising meaningful funds to sustain excellence in education – excellence that the citizens of South Orange and Maplewood (NJ) count on for their children. With the support of the community and other partners, SOMEF has raised over $1,000,000 for programs that keep the children and teachers of this district on the cutting edge of learning.

The organization’s core mission is to enhance the educational experience for all South Orange/Maplewood District students and staff. SOMEF supports initiatives that foster educational excellence through:

Innovation In Education
Educational Equity
Exceptional Facilities

SOMEF's initiatives and fundraisers are championed by more than 1,500 donors, many of whom also volunteer their time to support our programs and events.

SOMEF's primary initiatives include Teacher Grants, the ACHIEVE Volunteer Tutor Program, the Michelle T. Riecke Teaching Fellowship, Summer Administrator's Grants, District Partnership and improvements to the Columbia High School TV Arts Program and Auditorium. Learn more by reading topics in the About Us section.

Please note: SOMEF is an independent, 501 (c)(3) non profit organization. SOMEF funds are granted exclusively for use in the School District of South Orange and Maplewood (NJ).