More than $40,000 in grants has recently been awarded to Warner School faculty.

A $13,500 grant from the Edith Glick Shoolman Children’s Foundation will support the replication and expansion of a spoken word/slam poetry project at School of the Arts to two additional Rochester high schools. Joanne Larson, professor, will work collaboratively to bring “Rethinking English: Spoken Word Poetry in Urban High School Classrooms” to Wilson Magnet and Edison High this fall.

The goal of the project is to draw upon youth popular culture and students’ personal talents and interests to ultimately make poetry more accessible and interesting. Students’ original works of poetry will be developed into performance pieces for the Poetry Slam held at each school.

In addition, Doug Guiffrida, assistant professor, was awarded a $9,000 fellowship from the Social Science Research Council (SSRC). The SSRC Transition to College Fellowship supports new research on transitions to college that is innovative in its approach to the topic or in its methodology. Guiffrida will explore ways in which theories of human development can be used to advance contemporary theories of college student persistence.

With a $5,000 sponsorship from the New York Higher Education Support Center for Systems Change, Ann Monroe-Baillargeon, assistant professor, coordinated the one-day event “Inclusive Practices in your School: An Open Forum” with district and school based administrators and educational leaders in inclusive education.

Sherri Lauver, assistant professor, received $14,900 from the City of Rochester to support the Rochester After School Academy (RASA) Youth Impact! Project. Youth Impact! will provide important, real-world research experiences for youth participating in the RASA 21st Century Community Learning Centers After-School Program.