Rye Fund for Education Appoints Two New Trustees; Abate Steps Down

The Rye Fund for Education, in the middle of its $250K S.A.F.E. fundraising campaign to defray COVID related costs in the Rye schools, announced Thursday two new Trustees, Michelle Kramer and Jennifer Shirreffs, have joined its board. Kim Abate will step down from the Board of Trustees. Abate is a founding member of the Fund and has served as a Trustee since 2013.

“The Rye Fund for Education is so grateful for Kim’s long service to the Fund. Kim has been a Trustee since 2013 and she and her husband, John are founding donors of RFE,” said Rye Fund for Education President Laura Slack. “Many of the founding donors came to the Fund through Kim’s leadership. Without Kim, the Fund would not be the vibrant organization it is today. We are all so thankful for her service and leadership and wish her and her family all the best. We look forward to working with Jennifer and Michelle.”

Rye Schools Boss Dr. Eric Byrne added, “Kim served the school district community for many years through her efforts as a P.O. leader and a Trustee and founding donor of the Rye Fund for Education. Her commitment to the young people of the community has been extraordinary and is greatly appreciated. While we are sad to see Kim stepping down, we look forward to the appointment of Jennifer Shirreffs and Michelle Kramer as new Trustees who bring excitement and energy to the critically important work of supporting our schools.”

About the Fund’s Two New Trustees

Michelle Kramer

Before moving to Rye with her family and joining the Rye Fund for Education, Michelle spent nearly a decade in elementary education, teaching both Kindergarten and first grade in one of the largest public school districts in the state of Georgia.

Michelle is a member of the S.A.F.E. campaign committee which was created to help raise COVID-19 related funds for the Rye City School District’s reopening. Michelle is an active volunteer at both Midland School and at Rye Presbyterian Nursery School and is currently the Vice President of Communication for the Midland School PTO.

A graduate of SUNY Oswego with a B.A. in Childhood Education, Michelle also holds a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from Georgia State University. Michelle lives in Rye with her husband and two children.

Jennifer Shirreffs

Jennifer is an active member and supporter of the Rye City School District. She is currently a parent representative on the Literacy Committee and a member of the Curriculum Council of the RCSD. Jennifer is a member of the S.A.F.E Committee that is raising funds for COVID-19 related expenses for the school district. She also volunteers at the Rye Presbyterian Nursery School. Prior to moving to Rye, Jennifer was an elementary public school teacher in District 2 in Manhattan for 9 years and served as her school’s United Federation of Teachers delegate for several years.

Jennifer has a B.S. in Elementary Education, with a concentration in Psychology and Human Development, from the University of Vermont and an M.S. in Education with a focus in Literacy: Birth to Grade 6 from Fordham University. She and her husband live in Rye with their four children; three in the public schools and another child at RPNS.