Their Place

On a Friday morning in September, a group of middle and high school students convened on Grounds. After checking in with their UVA student mentors, the ninth graders visited the geometry lab of J. D. Quigley, assistant professor of mathematics. The middle school students chose from a variety of sessions on career pathways, including creative arts at The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative, health and medical sciences at Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital, and veterinary medicine on the lawn in front of Peabody Hall, where they were met by equine visitors from Ohana Horse Farms.

The students are participants in Starr Hill Pathways, which offers Charlottesville-area students career and college exploration and supports them from seventh grade through high school. Many of the students served by the program are from low-wealth communities and will be first-generation college students. Starr Hill Pathways is an initiative of the Karsh Institute of Democracy’s Equity Center and is part of the center’s mission to tangibly redress racial and economic inequity in university communities through research and practice.

The Starr Hill Pathways program includes a three-week summer experience on Grounds, weekly tutoring, six day-long programs during the school year, and smaller group get-togethers for UVA athletics events and other outings. A family support component sets Starr Hill Pathways apart from programs like it; as needed, participants’ families are connected to community resources to address employment, housing, and food insecurity.

Hands-on Experience: Participants in the Starr Hill Pathways program spend time on Grounds exploring college and career options—including veterinary medicine.

Being a strong partner with and good neighbor to the Charlottesville region is an important part of the University’s 2030 Plan goal to cultivate the most vibrant community in higher education. The University pledged $6 million from its strategic investment fund to match grants and donations to Starr Hill Pathways dollar for dollar. The University’s backing makes the program an appealing candidate for grant support. Starr Hill Pathways has received significant support from the DN Batten Foundation and the Anne & Gene Worrell Foundation.

“The robustness of the funding allows us to truly give the kids the best and allows it to be cost-free to all families,” said Ben Allen (Col ’08, Ed ’10, ’16, ’20), executive director of the Equity Center.

The best means not having to cut corners on operational costs, employing a year-round staff, and the ability to offer competitive pay to the University students who serve as program mentors and tutors, many of whom are first-generation students themselves. “It’s been so important to the middle school students to have these counselors who are racial, ethnic, and linguistic mirrors,” said Sarah Medley, grant writer for the Equity Center, “and to really see their place in the university setting.”

Melinda Hicks (Col ’22) was a Starr Hill Pathways counselor for two summers. She graduated from Albemarle High School, where Allen was one of her ninth grade teachers. Hicks went on to major in global public health at UVA and is working towards a master’s degree in public health at Columbia University. “Coming from Charlottesville myself, it was great to see this program develop over time and see these opportunities open up for local students,” she said. “We didn't have anything like that when I was in middle school.”

It’s been so important to the middle school students to have these counselors who are racial, ethnic, and linguistic mirrors, and to really see their place in the university setting.

— Sarah Medley

The benefits are already far-reaching, but the Equity Center’s goal is to examine the outcomes of Starr Hill Pathways to serve many more students in the region and beyond. “We’re trying to discover what the barriers are for students from first-generation families and students from low wealth so that we can then inform division-level policy,” said Allen.

This research mission is funded by the William T. Grant Foundation. Katrina J. Debnam, associate professor in the School of Education and Human Development, advises the program on research methodology. The funding supports the work of two junior faculty: Chris Chang-Bacon, who is looking at multilingual tutoring and its impacts on students who are English language learners, and Channing Mathews, who studies the self-efficacy of students of color in STEM. Faculty research efforts are supported and coordinated by the Equity Center’s Director of Equitable Analysis Michele Claibourn and Educational Equity Data Scientists Nina Schoonover and Asha Muralidharan.

The program has a data protocol with families of participants and a data-sharing agreement with Charlottesville City Schools and Albemarle County Public Schools. “That allows us to do two things,” said Allen. “One is continuous improvement as our program is developing: we can make sure that we’re targeting students with the right intervention. We can help advocate in different classes. The other piece is on the longitudinal side—a comparative study that looks at our set of kids and compares them with students with the same demographics in the area that don’t have the intervention.”

Students visit The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative. By working with community organizations, Starr Hill Pathways avoids duplicating efforts and supports the work of local nonprofits.

The first cohort of Starr Hill Pathways students will begin their sophomore year of high school in fall 2024, and as they prepare for college, the program will continue to provide the supports that are more readily available to families with higher incomes—help with class selection, tutoring, SAT preparation, and even experiences like travel and paid internships. “Those opportunities already exist in this community,” said Allen, “but the students that we are working with don’t have the social or navigational capital to get connected with those internships.” Information sessions on how to afford college will be offered to families.

Undoubtedly, some members of the cohort will apply to and choose UVA. “The University will benefit from a new generation of home-grown scholars,” said Medley, “who will make UVA and their hometown richer with their experiences.”

“UVA alumni talk about how their UVA experience was a key part of their life. We are giving kids in this community that would not have this opportunity normally an opportunity to have that UVA experience,” said Allen, “and in giving them access to the classrooms, giving them access to the gyms, they’re starting to see it as their place.”

For more information on ways to support the work of The Equity Center, contact Sarah Medley, grant writer and advancement officer, at smedley@virginia.edu.