Thank you, United Way Suncoast!
SOAR Learning Center has been awarded a grant of $49,500. in Community Investment funding from United Way Suncoast for its Family Literacy Project. This award marks the second year United Way Suncoast has provided funding for SOAR Learning Center. The grant enables us to continue our mission of engaging students and their families, and critically reinforces our amazing after-school instruction. Thank you, UWS!
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Community Foundation of Sarasota County continues its support for SOAR Learning Center— again sponsoring our all-important summer learning program. The grants — from the Two-Generation Approach
Fund and the Advanced Leadership Initiative Fund— totaled $26,760. This will allow our students to bridge the critical summer gap, assuring that the gains they've made this past year will continue to build as they prepare for a new school year in the fall. To all our friends at CFSC,
thanks for you ongoing support!
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The Learning Continues
We are open for learning and winning one day at a time— Covid-free! We are so grateful for our entire team and their dedication to keeping the children safe! Even as CDC protocols soften, we are vigilant about the safety of our students. We are ready for anything. If we should need to go virtual, we are ready with additional laptops, tablets, and a wide array of learning tools! Learn more:
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SOAR has expanded!
Visit our Little Free Library
Last month, with the support of the Sarasota Amazing Women's Group, SOAR Learning Center just opened its very first Little Free Library. Each month, the library will be refreshed with books donated by the Betty J. Johnson North Sarasota Public Library. Neighborhood families are invited to select books from the LFL, take them home, and add them to their home library! Learn more:
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SOAR Learning Center
A School Devoted to Excellence
Mrs. Paulk and the children
CFSC Supports Summer Learning!
Empowering students to develop the skills they
need to succeed at school and beyond,
SOAR Learning Center at the Jacquelyn Paulk Campus is making history.
Students with Mrs. Paulk, Mrs. Campbell, and
Board Chair David Rubin during pre-Covid days
(Photo by Alan Cresto).
Board member Dr. Harriet
Moore, Director of Innovation and Equality, Sarasota School District.
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The SOAR Legacy
Meet SOAR founder Mrs. Jacquelyn Paulk
From its inception, the SOAR program was made possible by the vision, the care, and the commitment of Mrs. Jacquelyn Paulk.
Mrs. Paulk has dedicated her entire career to lifting children out of failure and hopelessness— and into reaching their unlimited potential. For 38 years, she taught in the Sarasota school district in several local schools. She both organized and implemented after-school programs in the Boys and Girls club, The Sarasota Housing Authority, and Greater Hurst Chapel AME Church. After retirement, she began working on after-school education programs for community youth.
The SOAR program embodies her approach to individualized learning. It focuses on evaluating each child's individual needs, and only then customizing a course of learning for them— utilizing both small teacher-led groups and individual learning.
Several years ago, in an interview, Mrs. Paulk shared her thoughts, simple and touching: “Now that I have a little time, I can reach back and help. Maybe they can get a little better education and move on.”
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Please join us!
There are so many ways to participate:
by check or credit card— it's simple!
your time, experience
and skills
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Studies show that students who can't read by the fourth grade have an 85% probability of dropping out before they graduate high school.
Enter SOAR Learning Center, a community-based after-school program through which at-risk K - 3 students can achieve grade level reading and math skills while nurturing a love of learning— all in partnership with parents, schools and the larger community itself. More than just a tutoring or homework assist program, SOAR is a very highly-specialized process through which our students' deficiencies are uncovered, analyzed, and then remedied through customized learning plans.
Located in Sarasota's Newtown community,
SOAR Learning Center is a model program—
a learning laboratory not only for students, but
for teachers and educators from all over the community.
We are so honored to have as our Program Director Mrs. Celestine Campbell—a woman of commitment and dedication, greatly loved by all her students. Mrs. Campbell creates a safe and welcoming learning environment for her students, and a professional, spiritual work environment for the program's teachers and mentors.
It is her philosophy that every child can reach academic and personal success if they are taught effectively, encouraged, and engaged. She believes the parents are a child’s first teacher and therefore communication between the home and school are critical to a child's success. Read more.
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We are grateful to our special partners and donors who have generously provided funding, resources, services and guidance.
Thanks to our major partners!
The David, Adrianne and
Jordan Rubin Fund
Scott & Christine Key
Education Foundation
Sarasota Southside
Rotary Club
Dr. Rob and Joyce
Fish, DDS
The Hurlburt
Foundation, Inc.
Greater Hurst Chapel
African Methodist
Episcopal Church
Robert and Michelle Russell
Larry Greenspon Foundation
Dr. Louis
Robison EdD
Jesse L. Perry
Gene and Roxanne Weborg
Hilda and Ben Flink Charitable Fund
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And thank you to all our other donors for your
generous gifts and contributions!
Bruce Abramowitz
Dedra Anderson
Mr. & Mrs. Roberto ArguedasD
Daniel Avolio
The Baird Foundation, Audrey Warner, Dir.
Lisa and Dan Barzel Charitable Fund
Tracey Beeker
Robert and Willa Bernhard
Sandra Block
Roger Brewer
Robert Brown
John & Anja Buetergerds
John Buzilow
Carol and Alexander Carlson
Linda Commito
Lindsay Csogi
Michael E. Dahl
Debbie Darius Grant
Cindy Cavallaro Day
Jon Davies
The Democratic Club of Sarasota County,
Deanie Bergbreiter
Janice DeNure
Dan DeRoner
Christin Ditchfield
Nathaniel Ditchfield
Bob and Bennie Dods
Shelly Dorfman
Ellyn S. Drummond
Ernest DuBose ll
Curt and Kim Eskew
Hilda and Ben Flink Charitable Fund
Anne Fordham
Steven Frank
Dr. Wilmer T. Frazier Jr. and Juanita P. Frazier
Patricia A. Gardner, Sarasota Classified Teachers Association
Maureen Gebhardt
Leonard Goldberg
Patricia Goldwater
Alfred and Evelyn Gollomp
Thomas Gregory
Douglas Griffin
Rita Major-Hallerdin
Lovette Harper
Radiah Harper
Marilyn Harwell
Rhonda Hawkins
Fayanne Hayes
Sue & Bill Herring
Marilyn Highland
Angel Hill
Floyd Hill
Rosalind Hill
Elliott Himelfarb
Mikel and Francina Hollaway
Cynthia Howard
Nancee Hwa
Mike and Roxie Jerde
J Kay Giles
Randy and Beverly Johnson
Roger Johnson
Herb and Ruth Jones
Tina Kaplan
Victoria and Ira Kasdan
Rita Katz
Kerissa Rena Kow
Lynne LaBombard
Claude and Janice Labrie
Lane Ladue
Mr. & Mrs. Abdiel Lorente
Gerald and Sheri Lublin
Rene Luptak
Jennifer Mainey
R & R Matson
Kathy Fisher McKown
Patricia and Michael McNamee
CI and BJ McNeill
Jennifer Mainert
Gene and Sabit Mercer
Debra Meredith
Ramin Mesghali
Lois Meyers
Cynthia Mick
Marc Miller
Sherri Mills
Robert Monroe
Dr. Harriet Moore
Daniel Morgan
Christina Moya
Larry and Peggy Mulkey
Jeff Murphy
Karin Murphy
Vickie Oldham
William Penn Foundation
Foster and Jacquelyn Paulk
Mike and Gerri Pepe
Charlotte and Charles Perret
Jesse Perry
Reverend Keturah Pittman
Tracy Prince
Gretchen Ponts
Mary Pritchard
Agnieszka Gruszecka & Ilona Ratajczak
Carilyn Reiter
Anita Rogers, PhD
Carrie Rosenthal
Mark Rubin
Lisa L. Russo
Judith Samuel
J. Michael Sanderson
Daisy Saunders
Rick and Cheryl Scheid
Sandra Schelzi
Ms. Felice Schulaner and Mr. Dennis Rees
Dr. Cheryl Smith
Ranie Smith
Roland and Cheryl Snead
Jerry Sparkman
Anita D. Stephens
Russell and Sharon Stephens
Susan Stockham
Velvet Sumpter
Todd Sweet
Fern Tavalin
John and Barbara Teller
Marilyn Thompson
Megan Thornton
Gary and Sharron Turner
Dale and Mary Ann Vollrath
Alice and Rudy Veraguth
Cynthia Viola
Melissa Wandall
Bernard and Lois Watson
Jean Weiller
Gary Welter
Andrew Werner
Dr. James W. Wiggin
Christopher Wilson
Mr & Mrs. Daniel Woodhall
Kay Yoder
Kay Zahn