Philosophy of the WLB Foundation
The West Long Branch Foundation for Public Education was established in 1995 as an independent, not-for-profit organization to raise money for the West Long Branch Elementary Schools. Through the Foundation, grants, benefits and gifts are channeled directly into educational programs for the children. Over 300,000 has been raised in the twenty years, and the Foundation’s endowment is always growing. We proudly support the following programs:
Battle of the Books
Books and Beyond
NJHS
SITE
STEM
Graduation Award
Teacher Grant Program
Principal Wish List
President’s Message
As a former teacher, I found the Education Foundation and its philosophy to be extremely motivating and inspiring. It is intimidating, time-consuming, and very competitive to venture into the world of grant writing in order to obtain materials and technologies that are powerful and engaging in the classroom; things that the budget wouldn't normally cover. Having in-district grant opportunities became such an exciting, obtainable prospect. It provided learning opportunities for my students that I only dreamed of and prompted my colleagues and me to be more creative and dynamic teachers. That is why, when I first came to WLB as a parent, I was immediately drawn to our Education Foundation.
Although we sponsor many fantastic programs, it is the Teacher Grant Program where most of our funding goes. It allows our teachers to be inspired and motivated by not only exciting classroom technologies, but also by creative programs for the classroom that enrich our children's learning experiences, which can be explored on our Grants in Action page.
We are proud to help make this happen with events that bring our community together such as our Casino Night for parents and the student-centered and fun-filled ARTivity Night, as well as our other successful fundraisers. It takes a combined effort of hard-working parent volunteers, dedicated Board of Trustees, supportive administration and faculty, and generous supporters, all who go above and beyond, to make the Education Foundation the success that it is.
I am again taking over as the Foundation's president to continue supporting the great work of the Foundation, replacing our creative Becky Seikel, who is continuing as our Social Media Coordinator. We look forward to others joining our team to help in the Education Foundation's endeavors that benefit our WLB children!
Sincerely,
Jamie Saponaro
2016-2017 Executive Board
2017 - 2018
President - Jamie Saponaro
Vice President - Jennifer Simmen
Secretary - Lianne Pragosa
Treasurer - Heidi Bahr
Board of Trustees
Heidi Bahr
Meaghan Cavanaugh
Ramona Chambers (Inactive)
Jennifer Drach
Maria Fornicola
Ilene Guzzi
Stacie Harkavy
Trisha Kilgour
Megan Kwitkin
Jennifer Mack
Jhojo Palmberg
Linda Pape
Lianne Pragosa
Jamie Saponaro
Jennifer Simmen
Alisa Vandenbrouck
Honorary Trustees
Ted Krulikowski
Becky Seikel
Diane Eitel-Wortman
Webmaster
Monika Cagliostro
Social Media Coordinator
Becky Seikel
Philosophy of the WLB FoundationThe West Long Branch Foundation for Public Education was established in 1995 as an independent, not-for-profit organization to raise money for the West Long Branch Elementary Schools. Through the Foundation, grants, benefits and gifts are channeled directly into educational programs for the children. Over 300,000 has been raised in the twenty years, and the Foundation’s endowment is always growing. We proudly support the following programs:Battle of the BooksBooks and BeyondNJHSSITESTEMGraduation AwardTeacher Grant ProgramPrincipal Wish ListPresident’s MessageAs a former teacher, I found the Education Foundation and its philosophy to be extremely motivating and inspiring. It is intimidating, time-consuming, and very competitive to venture into the world of grant writing in order to obtain materials and technologies that are powerful and engaging in the classroom; things that the budget wouldn't normally cover. Having in-district grant opportunities became such an exciting, obtainable prospect. It provided learning opportunities for my students that I only dreamed of and prompted my colleagues and me to be more creative and dynamic teachers. That is why, when I first came to WLB as a parent, I was immediately drawn to our Education Foundation.Although we sponsor many fantastic programs, it is the Teacher Grant Program where most of our funding goes. It allows our teachers to be inspired and motivated by not only exciting classroom technologies, but also by creative programs for the classroom that enrich our children's learning experiences, which can be explored on our Grants in Action page.We are proud to help make this happen with events that bring our community together such as our Casino Night for parents and the student-centered and fun-filled ARTivity Night, as well as our other successful fundraisers. It takes a combined effort of hard-working parent volunteers, dedicated Board of Trustees, supportive administration and faculty, and generous supporters, all who go above and beyond, to make the Education Foundation the success that it is.I am again taking over as the Foundation's president to continue supporting the great work of the Foundation, replacing our creative Becky Seikel, who is continuing as our Social Media Coordinator. We look forward to others joining our team to help in the Education Foundation's endeavors that benefit our WLB children!Sincerely,Jamie Saponaro