HOWELL – Hundreds hit the pavement in a 5K Race to Educate presented by the Howell Township Education Foundation and Howell Township Education Association.
The Manasquan Reservoir Trail Run provided a scenic backdrop as runners and walkers took off on foot when the starting pistol went off. While some took more of a leisurely approach, others were clearly planning on making it first to the finish line.
Exact times were not available, however, the winners in the men’s division were listed in the following order: Kedar Nair, Sebastian Bihunian, and Jared Rumagl. Competitors in the women’s division placed as follows: Erin Cutillo, Danielle Gianelos, and Denise Holtz.
Mascots from each of the local district’s K-8 schools also had a great deal of fun as they giggled over the finish line in a 300-yard race.
Valerie Rosenberg said she was part of the Howell Education Foundation when it first began in 2005. The idea for putting together the Race to Educate began in 2013 and was intended to be an annual event. Unfortunately, event organizers didn’t run the race for a couple of years due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“This is our biggest fundraiser,” shared Rosenberg. “We raised $11,000 with this alone, which we will give as grants to classroom teachers for next year’s school year.”
Each year, the Foundation strives to raise between $12,000 and $15,000 and invites teachers to apply for $1,000 grants to further the education of Howell students.
“For the 2022-2023 school year, we received a generous donation of $3,000 from one person,” Rosenberg said. “We’re hoping we can come close to the $15,000 award for next year with additional donations. We sell bricks that are installed in the school and donations are sometimes made as memorials.”
Not everyone who attended the Race to Educate put on running shoes to compete in the race. Diane Vistein, who teaches Science and Social Studies at Middle School North, came to help with the logistics of the event. She also recruited a few of her students who were looking for volunteer hours.
“The money goes to actual education grants,” said Vistein. “It all goes back to the classrooms and it’s something we all appreciate.”
Rosenberg, who served as a member of the Howell Township school board for 12 years, said she sees the grants as a good way to give back to the students and teachers. They’ve also resulted in the adoption of a number of programs.
Some teachers have used their portion of the grant money to encourage independent reading by setting up mini libraries in their classrooms. A number of the grants have been used to enhance STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) learning experiences.
“One of our teachers used her grant to purchase tadpoles,” shared Rosenberg. “The kids watched as they grew into frogs and eventually released them in the Manasquan Reservoir.”
Use of this year’s grants money in some of the classrooms appeared reflective of post-COVID issues. In order to help students deal with the stress encountered in the last couple of years, teachers used grant money for things like mindfulness experiences.
Community support for this year’s Race to Educate appeared to be one of the biggest winners for teachers in the classroom.
