Schools

South Brunswick Education Foundation Donates $42K To School District

The Education Foundation of South Brunswick donated the funds to the school district for its engineering program initiative.

The Education Foundation of South Brunswick donated the funds to the school district for its engineering program initiative.
The Education Foundation of South Brunswick donated the funds to the school district for its engineering program initiative. (South Brunswick School District)

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — While the South Brunswick School District may be in a tight position financially, they always find ways to ensure learning continues.

Recently, the Education Foundation of South Brunswick donated $42,000 to the school district for its engineering program initiative.

During the last Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Scott Feder told the community he was approached by a student who told him the district needed better engineering equipment for maker spaces.

Find out what's happening in South Brunswickfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

When the student gave Feder a tour of the facilities, it soon became clear that the equipment was outdated.

Feder then reached out to the Education Foundation of South Brunswick to enquire if they could help in any way.

Find out what's happening in South Brunswickfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

“We pitched an idea to partner with us, and see about how we could funnel funds from this great work that they do and raising money directly into our engineering and maker spaces programming,” Feder said.

“They thought about it, they asked a bunch of questions. They really want to make sure they know what they're doing with their money. And they agreed!”

During the Sept. 28 meeting, the Foundation donated $42,000 to the school district to purchase updated and new engineering equipment.

“We looked at this as a great opportunity to challenge our students to create and learn through a hands-on personalized experience that will span the entire district from elementary school through middle school to the high school,” Foundation president Martin Abschutz said.

“This will give our students an opportunity to innovate and then apply personalized learning strategies and develop their own ideas.”

Abschutz further noted that this type of learning could be applied not just to engineering but to other aspects of student life.

“Most of our fundraising efforts going forward toward this program which will eventually benefit every single student in our district. And that's one of the things that really was attractive to us,” he said.

Feder thanked the Foundation for their donation and said the district was looking forward to working with them closely to figure out ways to direct funds into the program that students need.

Have a correction or a news tip? Email sarah.salvadore@patch.com

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.