OUR SUCCESSES
Success to us means that we leverage the achievements and actions of our local education system by filling in the funding gaps to improve the education experience for all.
Star Education Foundation funding has a positive impact to the students, families, and residents of our community. Below are a few examples of how we’ve put Star dollars to work in our community in actionable ways.
Your Donation Matters!
See how funds from the Star Education Foundation have helped students in the St. Croix Falls School District.
We fund new equipment!
Community Outreach
We funded a Grand Piano!
OUR STORIES
LET'S MAKE MUSIC!
The Pamoja Project will enhance the education of students in grades K-12. Shawn Gudmunsen, Michael Fuchs, Brett Jones, David Potter, and Seth Gudmunsen are a collaborative team who will bring this initiative to fruition. Shawn Gudmunsen is the St. Croix Falls School District’s middle and high school choir instructor.
Mr. Gudmunsen and music professors from UW-Superior have come together on this project
to bring together students in St Croix Falls and students in Uganda, Africa in a musical exchange. Mr. Gudmunsen has worked with Okello Leo Sam from Uganda since 2000, visiting SCF students and teaching them music and African culture. The funding for the first phase of the project has already been secured through other grants through UW-Superior and UW-River Falls for the five music educators to travel to Uganda in the Summer of 2024 to the Hope North School to teach music and collaborate with the Hope North School to create new music arrangements together that will be shared with the community in Uganda and in Wisconsin. STAR is helping to fund the second phase of the project which would bring some of the students from Hope North School and the Mzizi Ensemble to St. Croix Falls in October of 2024 to perform the music arrangements with St Croix Falls students at many
locations in a concert tour between St Croix Falls and Superior, with a final presentation of the musical arrangements at the WMEA Music Conference in Madison.
STAR supports Mr. Gudmunsen’s efforts and we look forward to a concert this fall. Stay tuned for details!
A NEW PLAYGROUND FOR THE MIDDLE SCHOOL
In 2022, the STAR Education Foundation raised over $92,000 for a new, inclusive, middle school playground. Through generous STARS like YOU, we were able to fully fund the new playground. Since then, it’s created a more inclusive way for our middle schoolers to incorporate movement into their day.
Let's Roll!
In-house Roller Skating for SCF Elementary School Students in grades K-4.
Elementary Physical Education instructor, Stephanie Belisle, requested funds to equip the Elementary School with skates and safety gear, as costs have doubled in recent years to rent the equipment. Having the equipment in-house will allow Mrs. Belisle and elementary staff opportunities to offer roller skating activities in the school as an incentive throughout the school year, not just during the roller skating unit in gym class. Storage will be needed for the equipment, and Mrs. Belisle has talked to Mr. Chelberg about having students create the storage carts in classes yet this spring.
STAR is proud to support such a grand idea to keep kids active and working hard!
