Proposal Spring 19 Urso

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Launching and Sustaining Soaring Stars

Before Annmarie Urso joined the faculty of Ella Cline Shear School of Education (SOE), she taught for 17 years in rural public schools. That experience impressed upon her the disadvantages many rural students face and how this deters them from a college education. To remedy this situation, Urso worked with then interim SOE Dean James Garofalo, who had experience with the Reggio Emilia approach to education. This pedagogical approach views children as strong, capable, and rich in potential and views the teacher, child, and community as equal stakeholders in learning. Urso saw that this approach would ignite the imaginations of rural children and she enlisted the assistance of Dr. Mike Glover, the District Superintendent of Genesee Valley BOCES, to get area school districts on board. Urso also garnered support from former Provost Carol Long and President Christopher Dahl. She next applied for external grants that in 2012 launched Soaring Stars summer enrichment program. Continuously accessing grants from many funders and assessing the results of the program has kept it running ever since.
Soaring Stars is offered to rural economically disadvantaged K-6th graders in the nine school district Genesee Valley Educational Partnership. The students, approximately 75 per year, are identified as at-risk for summer learning regression due to lack of access to enrichment opportunities during the summer months. Soaring Stars also provides in-service training for SOE students.  
The program relies on outside grants and contributions to fund more than 50% of its costs. It is a member program of the Greater Rochester Summer Learning Association, which provided some funding in the past. It has received consistent financial support since 2012 from the Marie C. and Joseph C. Wilson Foundation and since 2013 from the Feinbloom Supporting Foundation of the Rochester Area Community Foundation. Beginning in 2016, United Way of Livingston County has supported the program, and participating Genesee Valley Educational Partnership School Districts have provided Cooperative Service funding, $500 per student. Participating school districts also have provided for bus transportation, and breakfast and lunch are covered by the USDA summer feeding program. The program was held at the May Center in Mt. Morris in 2012-15; Mt. Morris School District provided program facilities in 2016-18; and the Livonia Central School will provide facilities this summer.
SOE Dean Anjoo Sikka has supported Soaring Stars since she started at Geneseo in 2012 by allocating departmental funds and has successfully engaging in short- and long-term fundraising. The Office of the Provost has supported Soaring Stars since 2013 through Geneseo Foundation unrestricted funds allocated to Academic Affairs. In the last seven years, Urso has sent out more than 30 proposals for support for the program.