Dane County Awarded AmeriCorps Grant to Continue After School Services

May 21, 2019
Ariana Vruwink (608) 267-8823
County Executive

Dane County’s Partners for After School Success (PASS) AmeriCorps program has been awarded over $386,000 in funds from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to provide literacy tutoring, run after school programs with a focus on building social-emotional skills, and engage youth in volunteer service, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi announced today. The competitive grant allows PASS to place 52 AmeriCorps members at community-based sites in predominately low-income and resource-scarce areas to serve middle and high school students with the goal of enhancing academic achievement and school engagement.

“It’s exciting to have Dane County’s PASS AmeriCorps program receive this recognition,” said Dane County Executive Joe Parisi. “This funding will allow us to continue our quality after school programs and serve the youth in our community through mentorship and other resources.”

PASS members tutor up to 160 students a year, helping over 50% make target reading gains. Through after school programs, PASS builds social-emotional skills that translate to the community and classroom. An impact analysis completed by the Wisconsin Center for Education Research found that youth who participate in PASS demonstrate statistically higher rates of school attendance than their peers who do not participate in PASS after school programs.

PASS AmeriCorps began in 2006 and serves over 700 youth a year. The program works with 14 partner agencies located in Madison, Sun Prairie, McFarland, Oregon, Verona and Middleton. PASS’s 25 host sites range from public schools and private agencies to neighborhood and youth resource centers.

AmeriCorps is a national service program where every day 80,000 members across the nation make a powerful impact on the most critical issues facing their community. PASS AmeriCorps is now recruiting for summer and fall service opportunities to meet the educational needs of youth in Dane County. For more information and to find an application, go to www.PASSAmeriCorps.org.