Highland Park Educational Foundation

01/17/2025

Casino Night is 8 days away!

As always, the Highland Park Educational Foundation supports programs in our schools that without your help would not happen!

Our January 25 Casino Night fundraiser will be a night of fun games, great eats, lively company, and ends with lucky winners taking home some 20 terrific prizes.

Go to www.hpefnj.org to purchase tickets and for more information.

Given the evolving population in Highland Park -- 50% of the students fit in the free/reduced lunch category -- our grants that expand the enriching expderiences for students are more important than ever.

Please spread the word!

05/17/2024

Highland Park friends! You don’t want to miss this great event in support of the Highland Park Educational Foundation (Who is the HPEF? See more info below.) Please come and join us with your family on Saturday, June 1st at the Center School from 4-8pm for this “BBQ and Beer” fundraiser.

This event is all you can eat and all you can drink—several “chefs” from town will be on the BBQs cooking up of delicious food (there will be vegetarian and kosher options), and beer and other beverages will be on offer. Musician Matt Witte will set the mood with live music throughout the event. And, best of all, we’re hosting a corn hole competition! The stakes are high--first prize in the competition are 3 seats to see the NY Yankees in the 10th row, second prize is a $100 gift card to Woodstack, and third prize is a $50 gift card to Destination Dogs!

This will be a delicious and fun community event and, best of all, every dollar goes to support the important work the HPEF does for our teachers and children every year. Join in the fun and buy your tickets at hpefnj.org today (link in comments)!

Ticket pricing for this fundraiser: $100 per person over 21, $20 per person ages 13-20, and under age 12 is free

Who is the HPEF? We are a vital organization that raises funds to help support the Highland Park schools. Founded in 1996 by parents and community members, the group is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and monies raised fund programs and activities not covered by the annual school budget. In 27 years, the group has funded over 600 projects and grants, investing more than $800,000 to support key programs like Model UN, DECA, Camp Bernie, Diversity day, and so many others big and small. Please help support the HPEF mission by buying your tickets today!

11/29/2022

There are so many organizations worthy of your support on , and please consider giving to the Highland Park Educational Foundation where you know that *every single dollar* goes directly to the Highland Park Public Schools to support teacher-led programs and initiatives.


Learn more about HPEF and how to donate here:

Building a community of lifelong learners!

11/29/2021

Highland Park High School will present Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night this Thursday and Friday, December 4 and 5! For more info, go to hpdrama.wixsite.com/drama

02/16/2021

HPEF Offers New Program in Response to COVID-19

In response to the ongoing needs of Highland Park teachers, the Highland Park Educational Foundation created a new, min-grant program that allows teachers to address some of the immediate, real-time, pandemic-related challenges faced in both virtual and live classroom spaces

The mini-grant program September 2020 has proven to be a great success. In just three months, HPEF has funded nearly 30 grants totaling nearly $6,000. These grants have paid for equipment and materials teachers needed to improve the on-line teaching experience and, in some cases, to make the return to the classroom safer.

Eight of the grants went to purchase document cameras which are used to enlarge and project images and text. These will also be valuable in school once classes resume. Also funded were subscriptions to on-line programs, for example, ones to teach science or instrumental music or enhance speech. For kindergarten classes teachers needed items to help student store their own supplies since group-sharing had to be avoided. Two grants were used to purchase books, some that students could have at home, books with diversity content.

In order to facilitate on-line teaching, this new mini-grant process allowed us to fast-track how teachers acquire equipment and materials. Once the superintendent approved a proposal, it was sent to HPEF. We were able evaluate and respond quickly, and teachers could then purchase what they needed. They then sent the receipts directly to us for immediate reimbursement. The usual bureaucratic steps of getting Board of Ed approval and burdening the Business Office with book-keeping were avoided -- everyone wins.

HPEF chair Lisa Berlin commented “We are so pleased at the great response from teachers to this new program. And glad too HPEF was able to respond to the crisis. We look forward to finding ways to continue to help our children and teachers in 2021.”

10/05/2020

The next Board of Ed meeting is TONIGHT, 10/5, at 7:30pm. Public comment was moved up to right after the Superintendent's report.

Please attend and ask questions and/or voice any concerns you might have.

Zoom link:
https://zoom.us/my/highlandparkboe

The agenda can be found here:
http://hpschools.net/board_of_ed/board_meeting_agendas

For the rest of 2020, meeting will be on the following dates:
October 5, October 12, November 9, November 16, December 7, and December 14

08/04/2020

Please read the Highland Park Public Schools's re-entry plan for 2020-21.
http://www.hpschools.net/UserFiles/Servers/Server_107102/File/School%20Reentry%20Plan%202020-2021.pdf

07/14/2020

Dr. Taylor is presenting a "Reentry 2020-2021 planning update NOW at the Board of Education meeting. Let's watch!
https://zoom.us/my/highlandparkboe

06/26/2020

"[E]ach district will have to weigh its options and come up with its own proposal that meets or exceeds the minimum guidelines. That could mean big changes to school schedules and start times.

"All districts will be required to have some form of in-person instruction, state officials said. So, keeping school buildings closed for district-wide remote learning is not an option. But schools can develop a “hybrid” model with both in-person and distance learning for students."

School districts need to come up with plans to reopen as 1.4 million students prepare to return to school.