Excellence in Education

The Excellence in Education program enhances the educational experience and opportunities for Sunnyside Unified School District students and educators by providing funding for classroom projects and supplies, dual-enrollment scholarships and professional development.

Programs

Tri-School Partnership

The Sunnyside Foundation is proud to be a partner in a new initiative – the Tri-School Partnership aimed at helping more Sunnyside Unified School District students enroll in and reach their higher education goals.

Sunnyside Unified School District, in collaboration with Pima Community College and the University of Arizona, seeks to work seamlessly in support of the SUSD College and Career Blueprint to improve postsecondary attainment. Leaders of each institution will continue to work collaboratively and commit staff time to the development and implementation of new initiatives that will support direct student support, pathway alignment, and family outreach.

The goal is to increase the percentage of graduates enrolling in a postsecondary institution in the first year of graduation by 60% by 2030 and improve the retention and completion rates of SUSD graduates by 5% within the first three years and by 10% within five years.

To achieve this, SUSD, PCC and UA leaders will work together to:

Develop an 8th–12th grade curriculum with hands-on learning and career exploration and establish a work-study pathway with UA and PCC.
Expand dual enrollment options, pilot hybrid courses, ensure AGEC credit attainment and support teacher certification for dual enrollment instruction.
Offer college credit courses for 11th-grade AVID students, peer tutoring, guest speakers, campus visits and mentoring.
Develop and host family workshops at targeted MS and HS grade levels on college admissions, financial aid, and career pathways.
Support students’ next steps with a summer bridge program for those enrolling at Pima.

Excellence in Education Mini-Grant program

The Mini-Grant program awards SUSD educators with funding for projects that help their students thrive in the areas of fine arts, music, literacy, STEM, and overall student health & wellness.

The program grants educators up to $1,000 per project. Previously funded projects include field trips, college tours, AP test fees, music instruments, science kits, and yoga mats. Our goal is to help ensure that any teacher within our district is able to obtain the resources they need in order to promote learning, engagement, and overall wellness in their classrooms.

For the 2023-2024 school year, 34 projects impacting more than 8,000 students all across the district were funded through this program!

Mini-grant applications open annually in August and awardees are determined by a committee of community volunteers.

Mini-Grant applications for the 2024-2025 school year are now closed. Applications for the 2025-2026 school year will open in August 2025.

Sunnyside CommunityShare Teacher Fellowship

The CommunityShare Teacher Fellowship program helps build a strong and highly-skilled cohort of educators across the Sunnyside district. This program is a partnership with CommunityShare, SUSD and the Sunnyside Foundation and provides the opportunity for district educators to develop their instructional practice as part of a 9-month professional learning fellowship.

Fellows participate in monthly facilitated learning experiences and meetings, and co-design real-world learning projects with their students and community partners.

The Sunnyside Foundation provides fellows with stipends and $1,000 for materials and other related expenses for their classroom projects.

Applications for the 2024-2025 cohort are now closed.

Dual Enrollment Scholarships

Our Dual Enrollment Scholarship program, established in 2021, is a collaboration between the University of Arizona and the Sunnyside Foundation that connects SUSD students with access to some of the highly-ranked STEM programs at UArizona.

The project's purpose is to enroll as many high-GPA students from Sunnyside High School into UArizona's bioscience program as possible.

The program seeks to increase the number and diversity of students dually enrolled in STEM programs.

Dollars for Scholars Student Scholarships

We are proud to support higher education opportunities for SUSD graduates and provide scholarships for college-related expenses at universities, colleges and vocational/technical schools through the Dollars for Scholars program.

Since 2004, more than $716,000 in scholarships have been awarded to graduates of Desert View High School, Sunnyside High School and Star Academic High School through this program initially established by the Sunnyside Alumni Association.

Scholarships are funded through the generous support of contributions from district employees, professional associations, community organizations, family foundations, businesses and individual donors. Around 40 scholarships ranging from $500 - $2,000 are awarded each year. The scholarship application opens in late fall and closes in early spring each year. Awardees are selected by a review committee and honored at a reception in late spring sponsored by Veregy.

Applications for the 2025 award cycle closed on January 14, 2025.

Become a Dollars for Scholars Sponsor

Your support helps even more students achieve their higher education and career goals! Supporters can establish a new scholarship (with a minimum $1,000 contribution), contribute to an existing scholarship or contribute to our general scholarship fund. Scholarships can be sponsored by individuals, groups of individuals, local businesses or community organizations.

To establish a new scholarship:

Review and complete the Sunnyside Foundation Dollars for Scholars Agreement
Completed forms can be returned by email to info@sunnysidefoundation.org or by mail to Sunnyside Foundation, 2238 E Ginter Road, Tucson, AZ 85706.

To contribute to an existing scholarship or general scholarship fund:

Donations can be made online or by check payable to Sunnyside Unified School District Foundation. Checks can be mailed to Sunnyside Foundation, 2238 E Ginter Road, Tucson, AZ 85706. Please specify the name of the scholarship (or general fund) in the notes field on our online donation form, or in the check memo.
Sunnyside Unified School District employees can support scholarships via payroll deductions by submitting an Employee Voluntary Deduction form to the SUSD payroll department.

Please contact us at info@sunnysidefoundation.org or (520) 437-1163, with any questions or to discuss further.