Hoboken Schools Superintendent To Be Honored In June Ceremony

HOBOKEN, NJ — The Hoboken Public Education Foundation, a parent group that helps raise funds for student programs, announced this week that its inaugural Shirael Pollack HPEF Aim Higher Award will be given to Hoboken Schools Superintendent Dr. Christine Johnson at a ceremony in June.

The new award is named after the late Shirael Pollack, who was HPEF’s Co-founder and president, a Hoboken resident, entrepreneur, and public school mom.

Pollack, a pediatric physical therapist, passed away in 2019 at 39 after a battle with cancer. READ MORE: Hoboken Holding Back Tears After Death Of Beloved Educator

"Shirael cared deeply about elevating and advancing the Hoboken Public School District," said a release about the award. "She was a passionate and relentless leader who always strove to aim higher."

“I am honored to be the first recipient of the Shirael Pollack HPEF Aim Higher Award,” said Johnson. “To say that Shirael inspired me is an understatement. Her words and actions taught me many lessons about leadership, her spirit affected my soul, and her memory will always remain close to my heart.”

To honor Pollack's legacy, HPEF will present this award annually to “an individual, group, or organization whose leadership, dedication, and unwavering support has allowed HPEF to further its mission of promoting, elevating, and advancing the success of the Hoboken Public Schools.”

The honoree will be presented the award as part of HPEF's annual spring gala event. This year, HPEF will host a virtual honoree ceremony to celebrate Dr. Johnson and the resilience of the Hoboken Public Schools and community on June 17 at 7 p.m. See links below.

“There was no question that our inaugural honoree should be our superintendent of schools, Dr. Christine Johnson,” said Jackie Dowd, co-Founder of the HPEF. “Dr. Johnson truly exemplifies the qualities Shirael admired: a passionate and dedicated leader whose unwavering support and vision has helped to advance and elevate the Hoboken Public Schools and the Hoboken community."

“Her collaborative spirit has enabled the district to weather the storm of COVID," said HPEF co-founder Erica Gavin.

"Since becoming Hoboken’s Superintendent of Schools in July 2015," noted the release, "Dr. Johnson has worked tirelessly to help lead the district to top honors in S.T.E.M learning, develop an award-winning Fine and Performing Arts Program, embed Global Learning within the curriculum, establish the Public Policy and Advocacy in Training Program, and to have all district schools named Project Lead the Way Distinguished Schools. Her commitment to programs such as the Classroom Without Walls Program and Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth Program, and the creation of signature programs including the Passport to Learning Program, the LEAP Program, and the Summer Fun and Fitness Series reflect Dr. Johnson’s commitment to excellence, equity and access for all students in and out of the classroom."

The June 17 virtual award ceremony will be open to the Hoboken community. Details will be posted on HPEF’s website, http://www.hobokenpef.org and across HPEF’s social channels: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

The Hoboken Public Education Foundation (HPEF), founded in August 2015, is an all-volunteer, parent-run, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that raises private funds to support the Hoboken Public District Schools. All proceeds fund initiatives in technology, innovative programs, facility upgrades, grounds, and equipment, health and wellness programs, among other initiatives, across the Hoboken Public School District: Brandt, Connors, Wallace, Hoboken Middle School and Hoboken High School.

Since inception, HPEF has raised more than $1,000,000 and funded more than 40 initiatives including: 1:1 Chromebooks grades 2-12, music program expansion, district-wide field trips, and professional development for all teachers and staff.

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