This is the latest in our series spotlighting the 2026 winners of the Judy Weston Awards for Inspired Teaching. Follow along each week to learn more about the impact these educators are making in the Montclair Public Schools. +++ Exceptional. Dynamic. Extraordinary. Values-Driven. These are a few of the adjectives parents used to describe Jessica Michaud, a second grade teacher at Bradford Elementary School, in their nomination letters for the Weston award. They also shared

This is the latest in our series spotlighting the 2026 winners of the Judy Weston Awards for Inspired Teaching. Follow along each week to learn more about the impact these educators are making in the Montclair Public Schools. +++ Music day with Max Mellman is hands down the best day of the week. That’s what the parents of an Edgemont Montessori School student wrote in their Weston Award nomination letter. “[My third grader] loves the days when they have music, and I have wit

Reserve your meal before we sell out! Sabor Montclair, a delicious fundraiser to support the Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence (MFEE), is back for its sixth year! Join friends and neighbors on Saturday, Oct. 10, for authentic takeout dishes prepared by local chefs that reflect the rich diversity of our town. This event supports MFEE and its mission to remove barriers to learning and create equitable access for all Montclair Public Schools students. MFEE serves 150 f

This is the latest in our series spotlighting the 2026 winners of the Judy Weston Awards for Inspired Teaching. Follow along each week to learn more about the impact these educators are making in the Montclair Public Schools. +++ At Montclair High School, Spanish teacher Miosotty Martinez is known for her humor and big heart, an educator who focuses on academic growth and student well-being in equal measure. In nomination letters for the 2026 Weston Award, Ms. Martinez was

This is the latest in our series spotlighting the 2026 winners of the Judy Weston Awards for Inspired Teaching. Follow along each week to learn more about the impact these educators are making in the Montclair Public Schools. +++ “If I could create the most magical, amazing teacher in my head, it would be Ms. Little. She is the embodiment of a phenomenal elementary school teacher—she’s in control of her classroom, she’s silly (but stern when needed), she engages students thro

This is the latest in our series spotlighting the 2026 winners of the Judy Weston Awards for Inspired Teaching. Follow along each week to learn more about the impact these educators are making in the Montclair Public Schools. +++ Montclair High School teacher Lei Haiting Liang doesn't just teach Mandarin, he makes students want to live it. This sentiment was shared over and over again by parents and students who nominated him for a Weston Award. Perhaps the most prominent exa

The Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence (MFEE) is excited to open its call for Montclair Public Schools teachers to apply for educator grants for the 2026-27 school year! Each year, MFEE awards between $50,000 - $75,000 in grants to educators in four categories: Educational Excellence Grants, Greenwald Professional Development Grants, Social-Emotional Learning Grants, and IdeaLab Grants. This year, IdeaLab Grants focus on a new theme: Teach Your Passion. The theme i

This is the latest in our series spotlighting the 2026 winners of the Judy Weston Awards for Inspired Teaching. Follow along each week to learn more about the impact these educators are making in the Montclair Public Schools. +++ “Every so often, a teacher enters a child’s life whose influence feels like quiet magic. Not the kind that announces itself loudly, but the kind that gently and steadily reshapes how a child experiences learning and how they see themselves within it.

Students engage in hands-on science at MFEE's learning center during Oruguitas de Verano. Summer days have been anything but slow at the Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence. In addition to gearing up for the 2026-27 school year, the nonprofit education fund is keeping busy creating summer enrichment opportunities for more than 100 students. The programs reflect MFEE’s mission to remove barriers to learning and create equitable access for Montclair Public Schools studen

This is the latest in our series spotlighting the 2026 winners of the Judy Weston Awards for Inspired Teaching. Follow along each week to learn more about the impact these educators are making in the Montclair Public Schools. +++ If you asked Buzz Aldrin Middle School students to describe a great teacher, you might hear things like this: “He is super nice.” “He helps everyone, not just people in his study skills class.” “He makes class feel better. He doesn’t just stand the

On a recent visit to Montclair Summer Fun Camp at Northeast Elementary School, a fourth grade Montclair Public Schools teacher joined a group of students for a spirited game of basketball on the blacktop. There were good moves and serious defense, plus lots of laughter. Inside the gym, an MPS dance teacher was leading a zombie-inspired movement game. The kids were having a monstrous amount of fun. On the same day at the Summer Sports Camp at Watchung Elementary School,

This is the latest in our series spotlighting the 2026 winners of the Judy Weston Awards for Inspired Teaching. Follow along each week to learn more about the impact these educators are making in the Montclair Public Schools. +++ Positive. Happy. Bubbly. Authentic. These are words shared in Weston Award nomination letters for Glenfield Middle School teacher Elizabeth Cario. And they’re traits that set an excellent example for middle school kids who are experiencing a tremen

Dr. Twana Davisson leads Algebra Kickstarter. “When will I ever use this in real life?” It’s a question many students may be thinking when learning algebra. Making foundational math skills feel relevant is one of the goals of “Algebra Kickstarter,” a new MFEE summer math program for 20 rising ninth graders. The three-week intensive is designed to give students a head start and help them succeed in Algebra 1 at Montclair High School. Students were recommended to the program

This is the latest in our series spotlighting the 2026 winners of the Judy Weston Awards for Inspired Teaching. Follow along each week to learn more about the impact these educators are making in the Montclair Public Schools. +++ In the halls of Buzz Aldrin Middle School, Michele Campbell Kinnas is affectionately known as “Ms. Kindness.” It’s a well-earned nickname. Parents, students, and colleagues alike praised her compassionate approach and positive attitude. She was reco

This is the latest in our series spotlighting the 2026 winners of the Judy Weston Awards for Inspired Teaching. Follow along each week to learn more about the impact these educators are making in the Montclair Public Schools. +++ A word that came up repeatedly in nomination letters for Nishuane second-grade teacher Jenna DePasquale is “genuine.” It describes the care this veteran educator shows for each individual in her class, her approach to creating a learning environment

This is the latest in our series spotlighting the 2026 winners of the Judy Weston Awards for Inspired Teaching. Follow along each week to learn more about the impact these educators are making in the Montclair Public Schools. +++ “[Christen Berman-Schiralli] is exactly the kind of teacher every child deserves.” That’s the opening line of a Weston Award nomination letter for this Watchung Elementary School fourth grade teacher. And it’s not hyperbole. That letter, and several

This is the latest in our series spotlighting the 2026 winners of the Judy Weston Awards for Inspired Teaching. Follow along each week to learn more about the impact these educators are making in the Montclair Public Schools. +++ “Shannon Becker-Fyfe is one of those teachers who just gets it. She sees your student as they are, and meets them there.” That’s how a parent described this Montclair High School special education teacher in a 2026 Weston Award nomination letter. Th

This is the latest in our series spotlighting the 2026 winners of the Judy Weston Awards for Inspired Teaching. Follow along each week to learn more about the impact these educators are making in the Montclair Public Schools. +++ Cary Bangs has an amazing ability to bring learning to life for her second grade students at Bradford Elementary School. For example, around Thanksgiving, she had her students make shopping lists with prices, providing a practical example of how her

MFEE is celebrating Montclair Public Schools educators during our annual Toast to the Teachers, a community tradition going back more than 30 years. Hosted by local families and supporters – now through June 28 – these gatherings honor teachers, staff, or administrators, while also raising critical funds for MFEE educator grants that boost student learning. Here are 10 cool grants that Teacher Toasts helped make possible in 2026: Hands-on Science at Montclair High School M

This is the latest in our series spotlighting the 2026 winners of the Judy Weston Awards for Inspired Teaching. Follow along each week to learn more about the impact these educators are making in the Montclair Public Schools. +++ At Nishuane Elementary School, school counselor Amillah P. Williamson is known for running her "Compliment Club.” A peer who nominated Ms. Williamson for the Weston award explained: “When students are the 'chair' of Compliment Club, they report feel