What is SOMEF?
How did SOMEF get its start?
What is SOMEF’s Mission?
How do you raise money?
Where do you distribute your funds?
What is ACHIEVE?
What is the Riecke Teaching Fellowship?
What is the SOMEF Teacher Grant Program?
What impact has the success of SOMEF had on the community?

What is SOMEF?

SOMEF is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization commonly referred to as a Local Education Foundation (LEF). LEF’s are independent, community-based organizations that raise funds from private sources to improve educational programs and facilities in their local public schools. Foundations similar to SOMEF are emerging in New Jersey communities and around the country in response to strained local school budgets.
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How did SOMEF get its start?

SOMEF was founded in 1987 by a group of parents and other members of the community who recognized that, due to rising school enrollment and costs and declining state funding, South Orange and Maplewood needed to find creative alternatives to help maintain and ensure excellence in education. back to top

What is SOMEF’s Mission?

We believe that an exemplary public school system is essential to the well being of our community. Our mission is to enhance the educational experience for all students and staff by providing funds to enrich educational programs, activities and facilities.
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How do you raise money?

• Private donations (most recently a $10K donation to be shared by ACHIEVE and the Riecke Teaching Fellowhip and $10K annually from our Board of Trustees)
• Corporate grants, donations, and employee matching programs (most recently $5K from the PNC Foundation, and Prudential Matching Program),
• Annual Fundraising events (such as Night of 100 Dinners) and other special events (such as the Spelling Bee, Very Senior Prom, Community Quiz Bowl, Harlem Wizards Game, etc)
• Campaigns ($17K last year from Honor Your Teacher and Staff Tributes, Annual Back-to-School Campaign, Annual End-of-the-Year Campaign)
• Grants ($20K last year from the Maplewood Mayor’s Ball plus the Orange Orphan Society, the Junior League of the Oranges & Short Hills, the Haberman Family Foundation, and the Starbucks Foundation.)
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Where do you distribute your funds?

SOMEF funds are distributed for enrichment programs, teacher grants, staff development, facilities improvement, and to address the academic achievement gap. Between fall 1999 and June 2006, we raised a total of $764K (including an endowment for the Michelle T. Riecke Teaching Fellowship of more than $100K). In total, we spent $528K in that period of time.

• The ACHIEVE Volunteer Tutor Program ($30K annually)
• Teacher Grants ($41K in ’05-‘06, $170K in total since 1999)
• Michelle T. Riecke Teaching Fellowship ($5K annually)
• Newark Museum Interdisciplinary Program ($2K in 2005)
• CHS TV Arts Studio ($80K in 2004)
• CHS Auditorium Restoration ($23K in 2005)
• Parent Involvement: ($8K for ‘A Pebble in the Pond’ workshop & film to promote good reading skills)
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What is ACHIEVE?

Established in 1997, the ACHIEVE Volunteer Tutor Program is offered through a partnership between the public schools and SOMEF. ACHIEVE’s goal is to pair qualified volunteer tutors with students in kindergarten through twelfth grade, who need extra help with their schoolwork. ACHIEVE recruits volunteers from local groups and organizations and the community-at-large. They include professionals, retirees, parents and high school and college students. 150 tutors provide over 2,500 hours of free tutoring, to 250 in-need students each year. Save the date: May 2, 2007, “Each One, Teach One,” Celebrating Ten Years of the ACHIEVE Volunteer Tutor Program – at SOPAC! back to top

What is the Riecke Teaching Fellowship?

The Michelle Traina Riecke Teaching Fellowship in the amount of $5K is awarded to one or more SO/M teachers for a summer professional development program. The Fellowship is made possible through an endowment fund of $100K that was established in 2003 in memory of Shelley Riecke, former president of the SO/M Board of Education. back to top

What is the SOMEF Teacher Grant Program?

Every fall, SO/M teachers and staff are invited to apply for small (up to $1500) and large ($1500 and up) grants for innovative projects to be carried out with their students. Since 1999, SOMEF has awarded $170K for 271 teacher grants in all nine schools. The Teacher Grant Program is funded in part by proceeds from the Honor Your Teacher and Staff Tribute Campaign. back to top

What impact has the success of SOMEF had on the community?

• SO/M students reap the benefit of SOMEF funding directly in more and more ways every day. From author visits to outdoor gardens to climbing equipment to conflict resolution programs to astronomy programs to murals and mosaics, to technology, SOMEF initiatives are being enjoyed every day by children in all nine schools.
• SOMEF has forged bonds between school staff and the community. SOMEF “extras” give teachers and administrators a feeling of being appreciated, while giving donors a chance to see their dollars at work in tangible, immediate ways.
• SOMEF has given the SO/M District a friend to turn to. By working together with the administration, SOMEF has become attuned to the strategic planning concerns of the SO/M Schools. This on-going rapport affords the District additional support for high-priority initiatives for which full funding is not available like addressing the academic achievement gap, Differentiation of Instruction, and the restoration of the CHS auditorium, an architectural gem which is at the heart of the schools and the community. back to top