Victoria Raucci, a magnet resource teacher at the Davis Academy for Arts and Design Innovation in New Haven, has been named the Neag School of Education’s 2024 Rogers Educational Innovation Fund award winner.

Established by Neag School Professor Emeritus Vincent Rogers and his late wife, Chris, also a lifelong educator, this award provides $5,000 annually toward an innovative classroom project proposed by a Connecticut teacher at the elementary or middle school level. The Rogers’ gift aims to support and expand the collaborative work of Connecticut’s schoolteachers and the Neag School of Education. This is the fifth year in which the award has been bestowed.

The School Clubs Program

As an interdistrict magnet school that serves students in grades Pre K-8 from New Haven and surrounding suburban districts, the Davis Academy is required to reduce racial isolation and provide instruction around their magnet theme of arts and design. The Davis Academy has been successful with its efforts, including being recognized in 2022 and 2023 as a Magnet School of Distinction by the Magnet Schools of America (MSA).

The idea for the winning Rogers Fund project came after Raucci and Davis Academy’s principal, Marisa Asarisi, traveled to Dallas, Texas, after winning the Magnet School of Distinction in 2022.

“During our time there, I met some wonderful students from the Barack Obama Leadership Academy,” Asarisi says. “In our discussion, I asked the students what keeps them motivated. One of the motivators they all agreed on was school clubs. We discussed at length the clubs, how they functioned, and what they looked like. I presented this idea to the Davis community as an option to add to our day. Everyone jumped on board, excited for this opportunity.”

“We seek to reduce student absenteeism across the school, especially in grades three through eight,” Raucci says. “Close examination of data indicated that Tuesdays and early dismissal days were the days that students were likely to be absent. Ms. Asarisi formulated a plan to hold clubs on those days, plus a few ‘surprise’ club days to encourage students to come to school. Teachers are also excited to share their passions with the students and create more significant connections in a more relaxed atmosphere outside of core subject instruction.”

Raucci had heard about the Rogers Educational Innovation Fund through the district’s HR department and offered to apply on behalf of Davis Academy, which spends a portion of the year recruiting students from other towns to be a part of its community.

“The project idea is important because it will set the Davis Academy apart from other schools,” Asarisi says. “Opportunities to stand out and offer innovative projects is what we need to entice families to come to New Haven.”

In the proposal for the winning project, titled “Davis Academy for Arts and Design Innovation School Clubs Program,” Raucci outlines their hope to “increase attendance and engagement to help students meet academic goals.” They plan on using the CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) framework to assist students with SEL (Social and Emotional Learning) by offering clubs of high interest during the school day.

“Not only would the clubs assist students with SEL,” Raucci wrote in the proposal, “they would provide a realistic setting for students to gain financial literacy, research skills, history, and a sense of community, among other skills.”

The project would increase the students’ sense of belonging by joining clubs with like-minded students. The plan is to create 28 clubs that students can choose from that generally meet for one class period a week.

Reducing Racial Isolation

Rogers Award applicants, in submitting their proposals this past fall, were asked to address such questions as “What is the teaching and learning problem that drives your proposed innovation?” and “What benefit will the proposal work have for the students in your classroom, school, or school district?” A committee of Neag School faculty reviewed the submissions based on these and several other questions.

We thank the Rogers family for their generosity and for selecting our school to receive this award. We look forward to sharing our success and collaborating with the UConn Neag School of Education and the Rogers family. — Victoria Raucci

“The Rogers Award Committee was ecstatic to see the possibility of supporting opportunities for students in ways that seek to reduce racial isolation through the Davis Academy for Arts and Design Innovation’s magnet theme of arts and design,” says Todd Campbell, professor and head of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the Neag School, who chaired the 2024 Rogers Fund selection committee.

“The project will create 28 clubs that students can choose from for a class period each week to engage in such activities as creating podcasts, music, and digital media,” Campbell says. “Through these clubs, the school, led by Victoria Raucci, seeks to celebrate students’ creativity in ways that powerfully meet the aims of the Rogers Award and the Neag School of Education.”

“We thank the Rogers family for their generosity and for selecting our school to receive this award,” Raucci says. “We look forward to sharing our success and collaborating with the UConn Neag School of Education and the Rogers family.”

Raucci was formally recognized at the 2024 Neag School Alumni Awards Celebration, which took place at UConn Storrs on March 9.

Read more about the Rogers Educational Innovation Fund at rogersfund.uconn.edu.