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Program Spotlight
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Lewis-Clark AmeriCorps Program |
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| Overview: |
The Lewis-Clark Service Corps AmeriCorps program is based at Lewis-Clark State College, Lewiston, ID, but that doesn’t mean all the AmeriCorps members are college students. The 75 members include students, recent graduates, and people who have not attended college. The members are placed at about 40 sites throughout the state in a variety of settings: charter schools, public schools, homeless shelters, other colleges and universities, and state agencies such as the Department of Corrections. Each year, members tutor and mentor about 5,000 at-risk students at all levels from pre-school through adult. At university settings, the AmeriCorps members serve in tutoring labs and student support service programs. Through a competitive host-site application process, the Service Corps provides grants to applicants who demonstrate a compelling need and a way to meet it. The program is a combination of two previous AmeriCorps programs that were located in Lewiston, in the northern part of the state, and in Boise, in the south. The two entities served similar populations; merging resulted in statewide service. |
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| The Results: |
Pre- and post-testing confirms that the program regularly achieves about a 60 percent increase in testing results. Many of the adults reached through the program are in the prison system; Lewis-Clark AmeriCorps members help them obtain high school equivalency degrees. |
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| Why It Works: |
The Service Corps’ strong partnership with community organizations that host members is a key to success. The Lewis-Clark program stresses training for the sites to ensure that they are ready to take on an AmeriCorps member, then follows up with ongoing member support. Increased success occurred after a highly focused supervisor training program was added to assist site supervisors. Offices in Boise and Lewiston ease the effort of keeping touch with sites across a large state. |
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| Lessons: |
The program constantly seeks ways to improve and looks for ways to reinvent itself every year. The sites change on a regular basis, and the Service Corps sets standards to hold them accountable. |
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| Contact: |
For information, contact Debi Fitzgerald, (208) 792-2084, dfitzger@lcsc.edu. |
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