DWIGHT MORROW HIGH SCHOOL
ALUMNI EDUCATIONAL ALLIANCE
Englewood, NJ
A Banner Year for the DMHSAEA!
This year, the enthusiasm and dedication of our teachers and community groups brought a record number of grant applications and a record level of funding. In calendar year 2023, we have so far funded 11 projects for a total of $41,801. They range from $1,000 for 36 students and four chaperones to see Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera to $15,000 for Parent Matterz, a local nonprofit, to provide 25 students a series of 10 college and life preparation seminars called “Blueprint to Success.”
Our previous annual record, set in 2021, was $25,500. Since our founding in 2005, we have funded 83 grants for a total of $166,774.
Here's the full list for 2023 to date, with the teacher or community nonprofit leader:
NJ Symphony woodwind quintet concert at DMHS with lesson
Gary Hollander
$3,000
Junior Jump Start (college application coaching)
Rhona Vega (Parent Matterz)
$12,500
NJ Symphony performance at NJPAC in Newark with lesson
Gary Hollander
$1,740
Baseball team college tour and spring training, Myrtle Beach, SC and Coastal Carolina University
Mario Lugones (coach)
$2,000
Trip to African American History Museum, Washington, DC
Osia Knowles
$2,000
Trip to Morristown’s Mayo PAC to see The Nutcracker with the NJ Symphony & NJ Ballet; with seminar preceding
Gary Hollander
$2,651
Ukes for a Cause (Middle School ukulele club equipment)
Joffin-Mari Motyka
$1,910
Blueprint to Success (college and life prep seminars)
Rhona Vega (Parent Matterz)
$15,000
Trip to the Metropolitan Opera to see Carmen at Lincoln Center, New York City
Gary Hollander
$1,000
SAT prep via Englewood Community Chest and private test prep company
Shelly Wimpfheimer
$2,000
Spring training and college tour trip for DMHS baseball team, 2024
AK Torres (coach)
$4,000
We hope you can help us make 2024 even better. We can use new Board members, especially from recent classes; we can use very occasional volunteers with special skills; and of course, we can use your donations to help Englewood’s public school students achieve academic excellence.
To make a donation, choose one of these:
- www.dmhsalumni.org/donate
- CashApp ($dmhsaea)
- Mail a check payable to “DMHSAEA” to DMHSAEA, Box 213, Englewood NJ 07631 or directly to our treasurer, Jonathan Rabinowitz, at: Rabinowitz, Lubetkin and Tully LLC, 293 Eisenhower Parkway, Suite 100,
Livingston, NJ 07039
No More Cap on Grant Budgets!
Thanks to our generous donors, the DMHSAEA has removed the $2,000 cap on grant budgets! We hope that this will encourage teachers and administrators to submit more ambitious ideas for the academic enrichment of DMHS and JDMS students.
In the past four years, we have funded occasional special projects exceeding $2,000 but most have been for that amount or less. Of course, we still require detailed, itemized justification of the budget request for each grant.
So, now that there's more to work with -- and the rules are simpler -- we hope to see more grant applications in pursuit of academic excellence at our old schools!
DMHSAEA Extends its Services to our Middle School
Recognizing that the roots of academic excellence in high school lie in middle school and earlier, the DMHSAEA now offers its grants to teachers and administrators at Janis E. Dismus Middle School. With the full support and active promotion by Principal Lamarr Thomas, we now offer our standard grants to JDMS teachers, along with our "We've Got Your Back" program to reimburse teachers for out-of-pocket classroom expenses not covered by the District.
And yes, we have funded our first two JDMS grants! Health teacher Dr. Alison Morgan-Black will coordinate and teach a program called "Helping Youth Make Healthy Choices." The $1,100 from the DMHSAEA will allow her to purchase reusable curricular materials for a one-marking-period course that each student will take at some point in their three years at JDMS. English teacher Joffin-Mari Motyka, who advises the Ukulele Club, received $1,910 from the DMHSAEA for more ukuleles to meet burgeoning interest from students, along with a proper rack on which to store them safely. The club, which provides a cost-effective introduction to a musical instrument, plans a concert and lesson for Englewood elementary school students.
Our Mission
The mission of the DMHSAEA is to support academic excellence at Dwight Morrow High School and Janis E. Dismus Middle School.
We accomplish this by funding initiatives for new or expanded academic activities and facilities submitted by teachers, administrators and community groups; by supporting other educational activities; and by strengthening alumni ties to DMHS.
The mission of the DMHSAEA is to support academic excellence at Dwight Morrow High School and Janis E. Dismus Middle School.
We accomplish this by funding initiatives for new or expanded academic activities and facilities submitted by teachers, administrators and community groups; by supporting other educational activities; and by strengthening alumni ties to DMHS.
Dwight Morrow High School Alumni Educational Alliance is a 501 (c)(3) Non-Profit