During its Aug. 22 meeting, the Hoboken Board of Education voted to accept the funding and will distribute it as follows:
- K-8 Field Trips, Elementary & Middle School Levels: $80,000
- College Tours, High School Level: $10,000
- Professional Development/Retreat, District: $10,000
- HMS Theater Production, Middle School Level: $10,000
- Orton Gillingham Training*, Elementary Level: $40,000
- Urban Gardens, Elementary & Middle School Levels: $51,000
- Family Connections Night, District: $75,000
- Rachel’s Challenge, Middle & High School Levels: $10,000
- Debate Program Expansion, High School Level: $20,000
- Supplies (Hydroponics), District: $52,000
* In July 2010, a US Department of Education agency reported that it could not find any studies meeting its evidence standards to support the efficacy of Orton-Gillingham based strategies.
* The Florida Center for Reading Research reported in 2006 that it was unable to identify any empirical studies examining the efficacy of the approach specifically as described in Orton-Gillingham training materials.
Prompted by cuts in state aid to public schools in New Jersey, a group of Hoboken mothers decided to launch a non-profit in August 2015 as a way to collect donations in support of specific programs within the schools.
More information on the Hoboken Public Education Foundation as well as past and future plans can be found at this link: https://www.tapinto.net/towns/hoboken/sections/education/articles/hoboken-public-education-foundation-donates-358k-to-district
