Community Outreach
The Center for Urban Education Success (CUES) continues to grow and expand its efforts in the local community to support K-12 and postsecondary education. As part of our connection to the City of Rochester as it pertains to different aspects of urban education, we now partner with programs that expand our focus to extend across the spectrum of student experiences and age levels, thus improving educational outcomes and strengthening our commitment to equity and excellence in Rochester and beyond.
The following community programs are now housed under CUES:
UR-East EPO
The University of Rochester-East partnership, known as an educational partnership organization (EPO), is a collaboration between the University of Rochester, Rochester City School District, and New York State Education Department to transform Rochester’s East High School (grades 6-12), which was on the verge of state-sanctioned closure in 2014. This unique school-university partnership has been involved in all aspects of a transformative collaboration designed to greatly improve the school and student achievement.
Horizons at Warner
Horizons at Warner is a community program that engages Rochester city students (grades K-8) in meaningful and authentic learning experiences on the University of Rochester’s River Campus during a six-week enrichment program over the summer and ongoing engagement throughout the school year.
Genesee Valley Writing Project
The Genesee Valley Writing Project is a collaborative school-university partnership that seeks to improve the teaching and learning of writing in PK-16 schools across the Genesee Valley region through a teachers-teaching-teachers professional development model. Highlights include summer institutes for teachers, a writing camp for youth in grades 6-12, and other grant-funded initiatives that support deeper investigation into local issues.
Monroe County Anti-Racist Initiative
A new partnership led by CUES, between school districts across Monroe County, and community partners, the Monroe County Anti-Racist Initiative is developing new anti-racist curriculum and instruction that will be implemented in Monroe County classrooms by spring 2021, beginning with grades 8, 11 and 12 and aligning with the U.S. history curricula and New York State standards.
Step to College Program
Step to College, which launched in summer 2018 under the University of Rochester’s EPO partnership with East High School, is an innovative pre-college program that aims to prepare Rochester students for admission to—and to persist in—two-year and four-year colleges.
Project READ
In partnership with Rochester’s John James Audubon School 33 and East Upper and Lower Schools, Warner faculty and graduate students, who are training to become reading specialists, offer a comprehensive literacy program for at-risk students. They provide individualized literacy instruction with School #33 primary grade students and support existing literacy programs and classroom teachers at East. Privately funded, Project READ includes tutoring services, in-class support and modeling of best practices for teachers, literacy professional development for teachers, and family literacy activities.
School 33 Partnership
With the University serving as the EPO for East since 2015, the School 33 Partnership works with the Rochester City School District to convert John James Audubon School 33 to an elementary feeder school to East.