[Newark, NJ – September 2, 2015] Newark Public Schools (NPS) and the Foundation for Newark’s Future (FNF) announced today that they are making a $700,000 investment to support teachers and principals throughout the district through ClassWallet, an online platform created specifically to distribute funds directly to educators. This donation will provide every NPS teacher with a $100 ClassWallet credit that will go toward back to school supplies for the classroom. In addition, the funds will provide every NPS principal with $7,500 toward strengthening education through professional development offerings, community initiatives, and parent programming, among other things.
“This is a great day for Newark Public Schools. The investment from Foundation for Newark’s Future shows a real commitment to the principals and teachers across our community who are working tirelessly to provide an excellent education for our children,” said Chris Cerf, Superintendent of NPS. “As we welcome back our committed staff and exceptional students and families, it’s important to demonstrate that we are doing everything in our power to ensure that our children are in first-rate schools. This investment will help provide our great principals and teachers with the resources they need to do just that.”
ClassWallet is an innovative system that will help NPS and FNF distribute funds to 58 principals and approximately 2,600 teachers throughout the district. This online platform enables funders to disperse money, teachers and principals to spend that money and all appropriate parties to track expenditures along the way to ensure funds are being spent efficiently and properly. ClassWallet is working in some of the largest school districts in the country including Chicago, Albuquerque, Palm Beach and Broward, as well as with nonprofit organizations like Reading is Fundamental and Junior League.
“We are proud to partner with Newark Public Schools to use this innovative platform to equip Newark’s principals and teachers with the resources they need to better serve their schools and students,” said Kimberly Baxter McLain, President and CEO of the Foundation for Newark’s Future. “We believe in Newark’s teachers and principals, and we are happy to play a role in providing them with the tools they need to make their schools and classrooms successful.”
With school budgets largely already allocated when they reach the schoolhouse, principals often do not have the discretionary funds available to them to implement supplemental programs and partnerships that would benefit their school and ability to provide a quality education for Newark’s students. Through ClassWallet, principals will have additional funds to help provide District-approved professional development programs to help attract and retain the best and brightest teachers to NPS and help support community initiatives that encourage increased parental involvement in the educational process.
“This generous donation provides a great opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of our students and teachers and will give us the ability to enhance our professional development programs,” said Principal Kathy Duke-Jackson of First Avenue Elementary School. “Our teachers are talented and motivated, and providing more professional development opportunities will not only make them better educators, it will enhance the quality of the education they are giving to our students each and every day.”
“I am excited to put these additional dollars towards purchasing school supplies that my classroom greatly needs,” said Denise Rawding, a teacher at First Avenue School. “It’s often tough to provide all that we need in our classrooms, and this donation will certainly alleviate that burden and enhance the overall learning experience for my students.”
How ClassWallet Works:
Each teacher and principal will receive a notification from ClassWallet that their account is activated and funds available. The recipient will have access to those dollars immediately. Teachers will be able to use the platform to access over 40 vendors such as Amazon, Office Depot, School Specialty, Scholastic, and Best Buy to help them create a great learning environment for their students as they begin a new school year.
When teachers or principals make their purchase and “check-out,” the money will be withdrawn from their ClassWallet account. Each account itemizes expenditures just like a bank statement.
In addition to having access to over 40 approved vendors, principals will have access to a debit card so that they can make any necessary purchases that are not covered by the available online vendors. The debit card spending will be automatically withdrawn from their “wallet” and again will be itemized similar to a bank account transaction.
All accounts will be available through December 31, 2015 at which time an audit will be conducted to ensure that all dollars were spent appropriately.
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