Announcing our
Friday, November 15, 2024 Luncheon
with Alison Rini Drexel Fund Founders Program Award Recipient & Founding Principal and Head of School at Star Lab, an innovative new 501(c)(3) nonprofit elementary school in Sarasota's Newtown Community
Ms. Rini holds degrees from Columbia University in neuroscience and behavior (B.A.), elementary education (M.A.), and education leadership (M.Ed.) and will discuss Newtown's Star Lab, where attendance is free, movement and motivation abound, & students experience highly customized learning modalities to meet their individual needs.
Friday, November 15, 2024
11:45 am - 1:15 pm
@Michael's On East
1212 S. East Ave.
Sarasota, FL 34239
Click here to purchase MEMBER Tickets - Price: $40/person
Click here to purchase NON-MEMBER Tickets - Price: $45/person
Alison Rini brings extensive expertise in gifted education as well as in helping students overcome challenges and disabilities from her 20+ years as an administrator and teacher in public, private, and charter schools. In the greater Sarasota area, she served as Principal at Island Village Montessori (5 years), as Assistant Principal at Pine View School for the Gifted (3 years), and as Assistant Principal at Cranberry Elementary in Northport (4 years). Prior to moving into school administration, she taught at Island Village Montessori (Sarasota), St. Croix Country Day School (U.S. Virgin Islands), and P.S. 6 (Manhattan).
Ms. Rini holds degrees from Columbia University in neuroscience and behavior (B.A.), elementary education (M.A.), and education leadership (M.Ed.). Working at a public Title I school during the pandemic, she witnessed the many challenges and inconsistencies of learning online, and also observed the deep impact of different states closing schools for different periods of time, which really illuminated the fundamental challenges of a one-size-fits-all model for education. She met desperate families who moved to Florida from states where their children had been sitting in their living room for 18 months with very little learning going on, and found that it was nearly impossible to sort all children into academic classes by age because they had had such varying amounts of preparation. Knowing there had to be a better way, Ms. Rini applied to the Drexel Fund, a Philadelphia-based philanthropy that provides start-up venture capital to entrepreneurs for ground-breaking schools committed to serving low-income students; she was awarded a Founders Program Fellowship to assist in launching Star Lab, which fuses together cutting-edge research on learning and motivation with customized student curricula and a focus on bringing joy to the children and adults who care for them, where students understand that the purpose of learning is not just to accomplish a high test score but to gain skills and knowledge for growth and confidence long term.
Students attend Star Lab for free using Step Up for Students state scholarship program funds. Currently offering its inaugural Kindergarten class, Star Lab’s vision is a true collaboration between teachers, families and students, offering highly individualized, selfpaced learning in each subject area with real-time feedback as well as a focus on ensuring the children learn in their own way. Star Lab's curriculum assesses each child's learning needs to optimize foundational learning and help students gain mastery, while providing autonomy and purpose. Occupational Therapy, Articulation Instruction, movement and frequent breaks along with additional contracted services, extra assistance, and adoption of varied approaches to learning are key. At maturity, the school will serve students grades K-5 in Newtown's socioeconomically diverse environment.
Click here to purchase MEMBER Tickets - Price: $40/person
Click here to purchase NON-MEMBER Tickets - Price: $45/person
All Harvard and Ivy League school alumni & guests are welcome!
A great opportunity to commune with friends and connect with your greater Harvard community!!
WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU THERE!
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