SIF177 Starr Hill Pathways Program

Project Manager: Ben Allen

Approved: Spring 2021

This program will provide the social, technical, and research infrastructure to redress educational inequities that persist in the Charlottesville-Albemarle region.

Project Dates: 7/01//2021 – 6/30/2031

Total Funding: $6,000,000

Executive Summary:

The Starr Hill Pathways Program (SHP) is a program that will provide the social, technical, and research infrastructure to redress educational inequities that persist in the Charlottesville-Albemarle region. Modeled after the Wolverine Pathways program at the University of Michigan, “a free, year-round college readiness program for 7th through 12th-grade students,” SHP will start with students in 7th grade to create a system of support for local youth from historically marginalized communities, while building a pathway for admission to the University of Virginia or the college that best meets their needs. This partnership between UVA, Albemarle County and Charlottesville City public schools, and numerous community-based organizations will improve student outcomes and mitigate opportunity gaps ensuring that local youth are academically prepared for post-secondary education, are thriving socially and emotionally, and have access to a wide variety of enrichment opportunities and support networks. SHP will refine a model for university-community collaborations that benefit students nationwide.

Website: www.starrhillpathways.com

Current Status: Active

Progress:

During the 2023/24 academic year, Starr Hill Pathways (SHP) grew to serve the educational, career-aspirational, and social-emotional needs of 175 7th – 9th grade students in the city of Charlottesville and Albemarle County. We welcomed 86 rising 7th graders to join the 89 returning 8th and 9th graders in our second annual Summer Program on UVA grounds. In that three-week day camp, scholars explored career options and built their college-going identity. Each student experienced two of 16 different career-focused pathways, taking part in hands-on activities provided by some of our 29 different community partner organizations. Students were able to self-select into their pathway based on their interests in mixed-grade level groups, while also breaking up into their specific grade level for more focused academic counseling sessions. The Summer Program ended with an Expo at John Paul Jones Arena where SHP students could share what they learned with their families and communities.

As students moved into the school year, they continued to be supported by SHP with academic and socio-emotional offerings. SHP students who were identified as needing academic support, as well as any student who opted in, were eligible for free tutoring sessions provided by UVA undergraduate students or The Equity Center staff, in either English or Spanish. Beginning this year, students who were identified by counselors as needing targeted support were invited to attend mentoring sessions with community partners or The Equity Center staff members. Each of these offerings were available to students during the day during their scheduled study hall or independent study periods or after school, in person or virtually. Students earned a gift card incentive for their attendance and participation in tutoring sessions, as well as for grade improvements.

During school closures for teacher workdays, students were brought back to UVA grounds for 8 career exploration sessions. Students were provided free transportation to UVA and given breakfast before moving into career exploration activities led by community partners. After lunch at the UVA dining halls, students gathered in grade-level groups for check-ins focused on social-emotional learning and reflecting on topics such as growth mindsets, educational aspiration, resilience and other important identity-building concepts.

Staff researchers have begun collecting data on SHP students’ career interests, academic achievement, growth mindsets, and educational aspirations (see Appendix C). The programs’ logic model (see Appendix D) holds that as students build up measures of career and college-going self-efficacy, personal agency beliefs, and aspirations through SHP programming, they will then begin to increase academic performance and close achievement and opportunity gaps. FY24 was the first year of comprehensive data collection, beginning with career-aspiration questionnaires given to all 7th grade students in the beginning of the academic year. Researchers conducted site visits, interviewed students, counselors and community partner leaders, and looked at school grades and attendance records. As these students rise in grade levels, our team will be able to track not only their academic performance, but how they perceive their career options and their self-beliefs. Our ultimate prediction is that SHP graduates will enter college at a higher rate than their peers from similar socio-economic backgrounds