Impact
Academic achievement
A positive climate
Social connections, better health
Our results-oriented approach
Honors for success, innovation, collaboration
Leaders in education, workplace trends, community service
MEMBER PROFILE
Still Forming
Bonds
Raul Castaneda, classroom aide turned Experience Corps member (and award winner), San Francisco

I joined Experience Corps because: When I retired years ago, I was looking for something to do. I saw an Experience Corps flyer at the library, and I called the organization. It's been a great experience working in the schools because I'm a bilingual tutor.

The best part of being an Experience Corps member is : The immediate result I see every day when I work with the children one-on-one.

I like to tell the story about: I have a student this year from Mexico. This last year I've been working with her one-on-one for 45 minutes every day, and she's more open and has friends. Also, last year, I worked with a third-grade boy. He had to go back to Mexico, and I visited him, bringing him letters from his old classmates. I want to visit him every year.

I'm sticking with Experience Corps because: I've learned the last three years that a strong base in elementary school is important for moving from elementary to middle school -- you have to have a strong curriculum.

Read about Raul's recent award!

"It's like a job. You have goals. You see results" -Yuriy, Experience Corps Member

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The Difference for Schools

AmeriCorps Study Shows Experience Corps Makes "Significant Difference" Survey finds that 97 percent of teachers agree or strongly agree that the members improve the learning environment, with three out of four reporting that students made significant academic progress as a result.

Johns Hopkins University researchers document Experience Corps impact. In schools with Experience Corps, referrals to the principal for classroom misbehavior decreased by half; referrals in the other schools remained about the same.

Experience Corps in Urban Elementary Schools: A Survey of Principals. Experience Corps boosts student academic achievement, according to an independent survey by Policy Studies Associates, and principals welcome the program into their schools.

Better Together: Restoring the American Community
Robert Putnam's Better Together: Restoring the American Community devotes a chapter to Experience Corps to illustrate the "extraordinary power and subtlety of social networks to enable people to improve their lives." The Harvard professor cites Experience Corps as a "social-capital success story."

Watch the Video
Washington University researchers on the benefits of Experience Corps  >  
Making a difference
Experience Corps makes a "significant difference," reports Center for American Progress  >  
A model for health
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America cites Experience Corps  >  

Celebrating People in Action!
"In the 21st century, the best anti-poverty program around is a world-class education. And in this country, the success of our children cannot depend more on where they live than on their potential."

-President Obama, "State of the Union," January 27, 2010
"Together, we can continue our commitment to education innovation by investing in Experience Corps, a program that helps elementary students by increasing the number of older adult tutors and mentors in the classroom. Independent research shows that Experience Corps works: Third-grade reading and math scores are rising and students feel safer at school."

-Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, State of the City Speech, February 22, 2010