2021-2022 was another tough school year. COVID continues to impact our kids and their education in obvious ways and in ways that we are still uncovering.  

And yet - our community continues to come together to work - to brainstorm - to volunteer - to donate to ensure that a robust and vibrant public education is available to all of Montclair’s students.  MFEE is grateful that our number of volunteers and donors continue to grow year after year.  

It is only with YOUR support that MFEE has been able to accomplish these things in the 2021-2022 school year:

MFEE continues to give to our schools.  From a $30,000 grant early in the school year for computers to help staff implement new reading assessments to $75,000 in grants to teachers and staff that support classroom innovation and social and emotional development to the continued support and development of school-based, districtwide Excellence in Equity grants (to total $150,000) - your dollars are going back into our schools to enrich our children’s education. We feel HUGE gratitude for the families who came out to host Teacher Toasts this year - which will fund MFEE’s 2022-23 grants!

MFEE’s Learning Circles on Race grow year after year.  This year saw many new Learning Circles meeting to talk about race and equity in our town and schools - including the very first high school based group. SVPA students asked MFEE to create a Learning Circle to help them look at the ways racial bias impacts performing arts programming in our schools and community.  Learning Circles on Race continues to make a steady and lasting impact in the lives of its participants. Look for more community participation and growth in 2022.

As more and more Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking immigrant families arrive in Montclair, MFEE is grateful for the continued support of community volunteers who step up as Navegadores, or "navigators", to help connect families to resources in our communities and schools.  Thanks to a three-year grant from Partners for Health, MFEE has been able to hire a program coordinator to coordinate these efforts.  Additionally, Navegadores Escolares has spun off two after school programs to support ELL students in Montclair: Entrenadores Escolares for high school and middle school students and Oruguitas for K-5 students. Navegadores Escolares is creating connections across communities in Montclair, while also focusing on addressingmany of the barriers to access school and community systems.  To learn more about the growth of these programs, click here. 

MFEE is delighted to be funding and supporting the district as a member of the National Equity Project’s Building Equitable Learning Environments Network. Joining 16 other districts from across the US, Montclair administrators, teachers and students are working together toward the overall goal of centering the wellbeing of BIPOC youth and communities in our education system. The BELE Network is not just a team of staff dreaming up equitable schools; the two-year project centers the voices of our students and their experience and development.  

Our Peer-led Educational Engagement program (PEEPs) continues to match middle schoolers, who are struggling with school engagement, academics, and/or social isolation, with Montclair High School students who are recruited, trained, and supported by MFEE.  We launched PEEPs in April of 2020, shortly after schools went remote, and we were thrilled to be able to continue it this school year.  Our teens continue to need a supportive environment, and PEEPs gives them opportunities for much-needed connection.

Your support fuels all of this work and more. From your ticket purchase to ShowUS Montclair, your donation to MFEE’s annual appeal, the Teacher Toast you hosted or the time you volunteered for MFEE - YOU help MFEE ensure a quality public education for all.  

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