Project SOAR
Project SOAR (School re-entry and Ongoing Academic Resources) is Michael Magro Foundation’s school success program. The program is designed both for students undergoing treatment and those preparing to transition back to school following a long period out of the school building due to their illness.
Project SOAR increases each child’s chance for a successful academic experience during medical treatment, during the transition back to school after treatment, and for years afterward.
For children to thrive in the classroom, they need much more than a smooth transition or ‘re-entry.’ They often require ongoing assistance, sometimes continuing on through their college years. Project SOAR nurtures each child, the family, and the academic community, empowering the success of their collaborative efforts.
SOAR demystifies cancer for everyone. That is why the project is so vital to the children in the program. These children are already at a disadvantage because of their illness. SOAR helps them feel like children once again. A parent is required to sign a HIPAA form before SOAR contacts the school, and federal guidelines are followed rigorously.
A team of therapists, psychologists, and social workers work collaboratively with the hospital team AND the school-based team (administrators, guidance counselors, and teachers), along with classmates of the child to answer questions – sometimes uncomfortable ones – to make sure misinformation, fear, and awkwardness can be left behind. In their place the child finds friendship, acceptance, and the ability to learn. Each program is customized to the child’s individual needs, increasing the potential for success.
Each year more than twenty-five children are assisted through Project SOAR, a project we expect to replicate in new markets to further its impact.
To learn more about Project SOAR, contact the Foundation at tmagro@magrofoundation.com. To support Project SOAR, click on the donation link and make your gift today.