Newton Education Foundation reports $600,000 raised, funds REAP pilot and teacher grants

Gail Rothman, executive director of the Newton Education Foundation, presented the foundation’s year‑end report and described fundraising and grant activity since the NEF relaunch about 18 months earlier.

Rothman said NEF had raised more than $600,000 in that period, with a “good quarter of a million dollars” from the Peach Education Tax Credit. She described uses of the funds, including full funding of the REAP early-literacy pilot, payroll giving that increased 50% and teacher grants totaling more than $100,000 awarded in $1,000–$3,000 increments; about 25 of the district’s 27 schools had received grant funds.

Rothman highlighted other NEF activities: $21,000 in scholarships over two years, funding travel for three robotics teams to world championships, support for farm‑to‑school initiatives under a USDA grant, summer learning buckets for kindergarteners and a piano class at Eastside High funded through teacher grants. She said teachers’ feedback on the REAP training has been “phenomenal” and that some student gains (for example, one student who could not write her name earlier and now writes every letter) were already evident in pilot classrooms.

Rothman described three common organizational models for education foundations — embedded, independent and hybrid — and recommended that the district and NEF consider formalizing a codified agreement to preserve the partnership when personnel change. She said NEF will continue fundraising efforts, including seeking to grow Peach Tax Credit contributions and aligning future revenue generation with the district’s strategic plan.

Board members thanked the foundation’s volunteers and donors; several directors and community volunteers were present. No board action was requested.