Dozens of NJ Schools Take Part in Global Projects

Humanitarianism, empathy and social entrepreneurship are among some of the things we hope to expose our kids and teens to as they go through school. This year, 23 schools in New Jersey have added lessons about all three via TEEEM, The Empathy Equality Entrepreneurship Mission.

Through TEEEM’s free leadership programs, K-12 and college students learn about global communities in need, and explore how they can help them. Efforts so far have helped hundreds of thousands of people in Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, Peru, Uganda, Ukraine, and on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation in the U.S. Some of the projects have included empowering Kenyan middle school students to launch businesses that address period poverty and food insecurity; building a community center and virtual language lessons in Ecuador; providing medical care, emergency relief and refugee housing in Ukraine.

TEEEM students and their teacher from Wardlaw+Hartridge Upper School in Edison spent the end of their summer vacation on a field trip to South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation, home to the Oglala Lakota Nation. For the past year, the teens learned about the reservation through virtual meetings, fundraising efforts and community engagement. To support one of the country’s poorest counties, the group organized sales of handmade jewelry and crafts created by Lakota artisans, raising $1,700; organized a kitchen supply drive, collecting over 100 items for the reservation, which led to an additional $1,000 donation from TEEEM; and mailed them more than 100 much-needed kitchen supplies.

During their visit in September they learned tipi construction, explored the Mahpiya Luta Heritage Center to understand the Red Cloud district and the impact of boarding schools on native lands, met students at Lakota Tech High School, learned about the Wounded Knee Massacre, explored the Badlands and Black Hills sacred areas, learning about reviving buffalo herds, and discussed the controversies surrounding Mount Rushmore and visited the Crazy Horse Memorial.

“We are incredibly grateful for the unique cultural experiences that Starr (Cuny, director of Youth Programs for One Spirit and liaison to the Lakota Nation community), her family, and our new friends from the Lakota Nation shared with our students,” says Taylor DeMaio, vice president of TEEEM, who led the trip. “This trip was more than just a visit; it was an opportunity for our students to build lasting relationships and deepen their understanding of empathy and social entrepreneurship.”

In additional shows of support, Pascack Valley High School students created the Okini Market for the Lakota Tribe. The community market offers clothing and household goods at reduced costs and employs local community members. Other schools like Wardlaw+Hartridge, Bayonne High School and Fair Lawn High School contributed to the efforts as well.

TEEEM will host its next humanitarian trip in October, bringing teachers from Fair Lawn High School to Lakota Nation; and plan to host a TEEEM Student Trip with another New Jersey school to Kenya in the summer 2025.

Through a separate initiative, Waldwick High School students challenged seventh and eighth graders at Kenya’s GRACE School to identify community issues and propose solutions through a Shark Tank-like initiative. The winning team created Dignity Kits of reusable sanitary pads to address period poverty, a major educational barrier causing girls to miss school due to a lack of resources.

These are the schools in New Jersey that are already part of TEEEM:

Bergen County:

1. Bergen County Academies 
2. Bergenfield High School 
3. Cliffside Park High School 
4. Cresskill High School 
5. Emerson High School 
6. Fair Lawn High School 
7. George G. White Middle School in Hillsdale
8. Glen Rock High School 
9. Hackensack High School
10. Holdrum Middle School in Rivervale
11. Hawthorne High School 
12. Lyndhurst Middle School 
13. New Milford High School 
14. Northern Highlands High School 
15. Pascack Valley High School 
16. Ramsey High School 
17. Ridgewood High School 
18. Riverview Elementary School in Denville
19. Stevens Cooperative School in Hoboken
20. The Village School in Waldwick
21. Waldwick High School 
22. John E. Dwyer Technology Academy in Elizabeth

Essex County
23. Millburn High School 
24. Montclair High School

Hudson County
25. Bayonne High School 

Middlesex County
26. North Brunswick Township Middle School 
27. Wardlaw + Hartridge Upper School in Edison

Morris County
28. Mountain Lakes High School 
29. Mount Olive High School 
30. Roxbury High School 

Union County
31. Elmora Elementary in Elizabeth

Projects like these have inspired other schools across NJ to join the program. There were 28 new schools added this year, bringing the total to 51 across the U.S. and Canada. Another 45 are set to come on board. In New Jersey, the East Orange School District saw the most significant growth, as it added the lessons to all six middle schools.

“We believe teachers and principals, now more than ever, recognize the importance of fostering empathy in our world. Our mission is to make empathy contagious and empower students to become leaders and changemakers in their communities and beyond,” says Jarret Schecter, founder of TEEEM and former photojournalist.

These are the schools in New Jersey that added TEEEM for the 2024-25 school year:

• Bergen County:
  • Cresskill: Cresskill High School
  • Hackensack: Bergen County Academies High School
  • Hillsdale: George G. White Middle School
  • Mahwah: Ramapo Ridge Middle School
  • Palisades Park: Palisades Park High School
  • Ridgewood:
    • Benjamin Franklin Middle School 
    • George Washington Middle School 
    • Ridge Elementary School
    • Willard Elementary School
• Essex County:
  • East Orange:
    • Benjamin Banneker Academy
    • Cicely L. Tyson Community Elementary School of the Performing and Fine Arts
    • East Orange STEM Academy
    • Sheila Y. Oliver Academy
    • Sojourner Truth Middle School
    • Whitney E. Houston Academy of Creative and Performing Arts
  • Livingston: Livingston High School
  • Verona: Verona High School
• Morris County:
  • Montville: Hilldale Elementary School
  • Morristown: Morristown Beard Upper School
  • Denville: Riverview Elementary School
• Passaic County:
  • Hawthorne: Hawthorne High School
  • Wayne: DCL STEM Academy
• Somerset County:
  • Short Hills: Pingry Lower School

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