Keeping its promise to the community, the Wildcat Charter School continues to provide a supportive learning environment to underserved students, most of whom come from low-income families.
Under the leadership of the University of Arizona College of Education, the innovative K-8 school in the heart of Tucson features a ground-breaking curriculum, small classes, athletics, after-school activities and cultural development.
The Arizona Department of Education recognizes the school as Performing Plus.
As the College of Education's liaison to the school, I work with various colleges at the UA to bring the talents and abilities of UA students and faculty to Wildcat Charter School students.
As a result of our work, some wonderful programs have blossomed. Through the College of Education's Project SOAR, UA students learn how to mentor middle-school students.
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The project now partners with the College of Science to prepare science mentors.
Working with Ekaterina Taralova, then a UA computer science undergraduate, and Kobus Barnard, a UA associate professor of computer science, I helped design and execute an annual computational science camp for middle-school students. The camp, run by computer science students, is funded by the National Science Foundation.
I also launched the College of Education's rigorous Passport to High School Summer Institute.
Eighth-grade students spend half a day meeting and interviewing College of Science researchers, scientists and graduate students.
This helps the recently graduated eighth-graders plan their high school program to best prepare them for both college and their future careers.
About the educator
Sara Chavarria is the director of outreach for the UA College of Education. She developed a summer institute for high school students and designed a mentor-hosting handbook for K-12 schools. She was a key member of the design team for UA for You (uaforyou.arizona.edu), a website that allows community members to easily locate all the outreach programs the UA offers. Her doctorate from the UA is in reading, language and culture.
Experience science
Wildcat Charter School: www.thewildcatschool.com
UA for You portal: uaforyou.arizona.edu
College of Education Outreach: coe.arizona.edu/community/outreach