During the 2024–25 academic year, Napa Valley Unified School District (NVUSD) expanded its students’ access to higher education through a partnership with the Small Town and Rural Students (STARS) College Network.
In February of 2025, the NVUSD Board of Education voted to approve the partnership, STARS’ first formal collaboration with a district, and launch a four-year pilot program.
The relationship was sparked when Superintendent Rosanna Mucetti met University of Chicago (UChicago) Vice President and Dean of Admissions Jim Nondorf at a College Board Superintendent Advisory Committee Meeting in late 2024. UChicago is the network’s founding institution.
“During the meeting, Jim shared his dedication to helping students from small-town and rural America enroll in, succeed at and graduate from the undergraduate program of their choice, and shared his interest in partnering with school districts,” Mucetti recalled. “I loved his vision for increasing representation and access to elite colleges and universities for students like ours growing up in the Napa Valley.”
According to Mucetti, “the program hopes to expand the number of qualified and interested NVUSD students applying to and enrolling in prestigious four-year institutions, closing a historical opportunity gap for many.” “Students need us to expose them to these transformative opportunities and experiences so they can imagine possibilities and realize dreams of college attainment,” she added.
Goals for the pilot include improving college-going culture in the district and community, improving admissions results and graduation rates, increasing education and exposure around the lifelong benefits of graduating from a top school, and providing expert, student-centered college advising starting early on in high school.
About STARS
“We want students from rural and small-town America to have the information and support they need to find and graduate from the college of their choice,” said the network’s Executive Director Marjorie Betley. “The STARS College Network is made up of 32 top colleges and universities committed to improving access and affordability to higher education for these students.”
Those 32 organizations include flagship state schools, Ivy League universities, historically Black colleges and other selective institutions. In California, Stanford University, University of Southern California, California Institute of Technology and University of California, Berkeley, are participants.
According to STARS’ website, although students from small towns and rural communities graduate high school at similar rates as those from metro areas, they’re half as likely to graduate from a selective college or university.
STARS aims to address this disparity by tackling obstacles like lack of access to resources to help students understand available higher education, financial aid and scholarship options as well as application processes. The network travels to high schools to connect with students, hosts virtual programming and facilitates visits to college/university campuses.
“By combining resources and committing to a plan to overcome those challenges, STARS member institutions help a wide variety of students at every step of their journey, whether they ultimately attend a STARS institution or not,” its website states.
Since its launch in 2023, more than 24,000 rural and small-town students have enrolled at STARS-network institutions.
Early successes
Within weeks of the board’s approval of the partnership, the district could see positive impacts, Mucetti said. In 2024–25, some highlights included engagement opportunities between the STARS team and K-12 students to inspire college plans, as well as 16 NVUSD students being accepted to competitive summer “fly-in” programs at UChicago and Vanderbilt University to foster on-campus connections and prepare them for future endeavors.
A comprehensive college access event featuring STARS representatives and admissions directors was held in spring, with a similar event taking place this October.
NVUSD Board President Eve Ryser explained that the partnership aligns with the board’s priority to strengthen college- and career-readiness opportunities.
“These annual priorities are the board of education’s promise to the community, transparently guiding our work to advance the 2024–2029 NVUSD Strategic Plan,” Ryser said. “We are committed to creating systems that ensure every student has the chance to experience career-aligned, real-world learning and build a bright future.”
Mucetti added that while the program is beneficial for all students, it is especially so for first-generation and low-income students.
In 2025–26 and beyond, she said her goal is to extend college attainment opportunities to as many NVUSD students as possible, “creating a national proof point for what can be achieved when students from smaller towns and rural areas receive targeted support, meaningful college exposure and personalized advising.
“I am committed to dramatically increasing the number of NVUSD students who are not only accepted into four-year higher education institutions but also persist to successfully earn their degrees,” Mucetti said.
