Summer 2025 Spotlight: Teachers
The summer of 2025 marked a season of renewal, resilience, and firsts for the Greater Rochester Summer Learning Association's summerLEAP into kindergarten program. Over six weeks, more than 260 young learners across Rochester stepped into classrooms, community centers, and swimming pools with excitement, curiosity, and determination.
This year, under the leadership of Executive Director Tariq J. Smith in his first full season, summerLEAP deepened its commitment to whole-child development, blending academic rigor with joyful enrichment and life skills. From hands-on science kits to weekly swim lessons, children not only built literacy and numeracy skills but also gained confidence, resilience, and the ability to dream bigger about what's possible in their futures.
Summer 2025 was not just about preparing for kindergarten, it was about equity, access, and empowerment. Families were welcomed as partners, teachers brought both skill and heart, and the community rallied together to close opportunity gaps and give Rochester's youngest learners the strong foundation they deserve.
As the season came to a close, the energy and accomplishments of summer 2025 set the stage for what lies ahead. Families left with renewed hope, children walked into kindergarten prepared and confident, and our community partners reaffirmed their shared commitment to equity in early childhood education. With continued support from our funders, partners, and the broader Rochester community, we are poised to reach even more children and continue closing opportunity gaps.
SummerLEAP is more than a program, it's a promise that every child deserves the chance to start strong, dream big, and leap into a future full of possibility.
None of this growth would be possible without the dedication and love of our teachers. They are the steady guides who nurture curiosity, spark imagination, and plant the seeds of confidence in every child. Their commitment shapes not only classrooms, but futures. That is why this year, we are shining the spotlight on our teachers, the true heart of our program.
