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

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 September and awardees are determined by a committee of community volunteers.

Mini-Grant applications for the 2024-2025 academic year will open on August 5, 2024. Apply online here: tinyurl.com/minigrants2024.

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 open now through Sept. 5, 2024. Apply online here: tinyurl.com/24-25CommunityShare.

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.

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.