"The idea of engaging seniors in civic work is especially important in a society that will have a growing cadre of elderly Americans seeking new ways to use their gifts and to offer something back to their country."
– E.J. Dionne, columnist, The Washington Post, and author, Stand Up Fight Back.
"Experience Corps matches a critical need with a vital resource...Struggling inner-city children need help with their studies and more adult attention. Older citizens have time on their hands and skills to share. Put the two together and you have a powerful combination that works wonders for all involved."
– The Minneapolis Star Tribune
"On normal days, the sweetest moment for fifth and sixth grade boys is 2:30, when the school clerk, Quentin Addison, announces over the loudspeaker, 'Would all mentees come to Room 220 after school to meet their mentors.' The mentors are a dozen successful, retired men. 'Gentlemen with an aura,' the principal calls them, though formally they are members of Experience Corps."
– Michael Winerip, education columnist, The New York Times
"The emergence of an older, more vigorous population is the most significant social story of our time...[Experience Corps] is fulfilling for the kids. Fulfilling for the country. And fulfilling for volunteer."
– Washington Post health columnist Abigail Trafford, author of My Time: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life
"Experience Corps has received rave reviews from principals and policy analysts who have watched student achievement soar soon after retirees enter their schools... I am impressed by their passionate devotion to helping children learn."
– Ruth Rosen, columnist, San Francisco Chronicle
"Experience Corps is a perfect example of community involvement in public schools."
– Sam Fulwood, columnist, Cleveland Plain Dealer
"We need to do more of what UPS, Experience Corps and other groups are doing: inventing ways of connecting that reflect the way we live now."
–Jane Eisner, columnist, Philadelphia Inquirer
"More and more research shows if seniors want to feel younger and stay healthier longer they need to get involved with life. Going to classes, attending art programs, and of course, volunteering. So while you're helping the students you tutor, you're definitely helping your own health as well. And that's a definite win-win solution."
– Dr. Dean Edell, syndicated health journalist
"If the world of the retiree is undergoing a sea change, then the Experience Corps [is] playing a central role in that change."
– Sara Rimer, The New York Times (news story)
"Experience Corps is well understood to be cost effective and well documented to increase student achievement and reduce behavior problems."
–Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke, Baltimore
"We need a mind shift in public policy... to see this wave coming not as something that will crash down over our heads but that lifts us up, as a nation, and moves us forward. That's what's so exciting about Experience Corps. It brokers the opportunities that exist between seniors and the needs in our society."
– Representative John Sarbanes, (D-MD.)
"From the start, Experience Corps was a very smart social invention, destined to change the landscape for older Americans and for the communities in which they live. Today, nearly 10 years after its launch, Experience Corps is an established leader in the field, providing invaluable service in communities across the country. I am so impressed by your growth, savvy, and leadership – and so proud that, through both Senior Corps and AmeriCorps, the Corporation for National & Community Service has had a hand in fueling your success."
– David Eisner, Chief Executive Officer, Corporation for National & Community Service
"Experience Corps is an excellent example of how a program's deeper understanding of informal volunteering can inform strategies for helping traditional volunteer organizations tap the potential of persons generally more likely to be engaged as informal volunteers...Not only does this program reach out to an underutilized group of volunteers who wish to give back to their community (generally older, low-income African Americans), but it also helps to address the economic needs."
–Christopher Johnson, Points of Light Foundation, in Reinventing Aging: Baby Boomers and Civic Engagement, Harvard School of Public Health-MetLife Foundation Initiative on Retirement and Civic Engagement
"Experience Corps is a tremendous intergenerational program, and we are delighted to support the effort to recruit thousands more older Americans to join Experience Corps."
– Josefina G. Carbonell, Assistant Secretary for Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
"AARP is pleased to tell our members about Experience Corps and how they can get involved with its service opportunities. This is an excellent program that gives people the opportunity to stay active, participate in the life of their communities, and make a difference in the lives of children."
– Bill Novelli, executive director and CEO, AARP
"While most public education initiatives struggle to demonstrate positive results, the impact of the Experience Corps members' work is striking: Independent evaluations demonstrate a dramatic improvement in students' attendance and motivation, and more than two-thirds of the participating students raise their reading scores by one grade level or more."
– Senator Tom Carper, Delaware (Blueprint, May 2004)
"Governor Ehrlich and I are extremely grateful for the incredible work Experience Corps volunteers do to enhance the education of students in Baltimore City. It is truly a blessing for our children to have dedicated volunteers as an extra source of support in the classroom."
– Lt. Governor Michael Steele, Maryland
"Experience Corps from the beginning wanted to crack the atom of 'senior power' to really solve some of our big problems. To do this, you need to attract a much larger and more diverse group of seniors [than previous programs did], and you need a far deeper commitment from the participants. You must appeal to people's talents and skills and build spirit de corps. It is far more compelling to many seniors...if they see a chance to do work not as a single volunteer in a school, but as part of a team with a mission."
– Former U.S. Senator Harris Wofford, founding CEO, Corporation for National & Community Service
"Experience Corps provides AARP members a way to give back to their community. They find the experience to be rewarding, and the schools also benefit. The program is a win for all involved."
– Maureen McKoy, Associate State Director for AARP, Pennsylvania
"Experience Corps makes a significant difference building a positive environment for learning, help students achieve," and serves as "a cost effective way to improve the quality of education and supplement overworked teachers."
–The Center for American Progress
"Giving back to your community may slow the aging process in ways that lead to a higher quality of life in older adults. Physical, cognitive and social activity increased in volunteers, suggesting potential for Experience Corps and similar programs to improve health for an aging population, while simultaneously improving educational outcomes for children. It potentially could have great social impact if taken to a large scale."
– Linda P. Fried, M.D., former director of the Center on Aging and Health at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions; Dean, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
"Principals, coping with the press of ever-rising academic expectations and administrative challenges, have no time for programs that do not serve their purposes. Experience Corps has won their allegiance and respect."
– Policy Studies Associates
"[Organizations like Experience Corps] appear to be precisely the kind of programs that can reduce disability and raise cognitive awareness."
– Dr. Richard Suzman, associate director for behavioral social research, National Institute on Aging
"Experience Corps illustrates the extraordinary power and subtlety of social networks to enable people to improve their lives."
– Harvard University professor Robert Putnam, author of Bowling Alone and Better Together: Restoring the American Community
From Better Together:
"The reading scores of 75 percent of Experience Corps students in Philadelphia have increased one grade level. Attendance among the students tutored has improved. Surveys of volunteers taken at the beginning of their participation in the pilot program and at the end of the two-year pilot show a significant increase in their sense of purpose and energy and a significant decrease in loneliness. Other results, less tangible, are probably more important: the greater pride and hopefulness of students, the lessons they learn about caring and civility; greater connection and respect among generations; a richer school environment; a new sense of the possibilities of...'the third age.'"
Note: Experience Corps Philadelphia is featured on the Better Together web site.
"The number of office referrals that may or may not lead to an out-of-school suspension has dropped drastically in grades K -3. Last year we had approximately 21 office referrals in those grade levels and this year there are only 7. I know this is partly due to the support of our Experience Corps members."
– Nancy Fagan, principal, Highlantown Elementary School, Baltimore
"Experience Corps members contributed substantially to an improvement in first grade reading scores through one-on-one reading, encouragement, and making the 100 Book Challenge possible. In addition, there is a big difference in school atmosphere and climate as a result of the program. Last year, I saw a decrease in office referrals for inappropriate behavior from 117 to 56, due to Experience Corps's presence in our school."
– Irma Johnson, principal, Dallas Nicholas Elementary, Baltimore
"Experience Corps is great for a principal because it's turnkey and brings proven results. It doesn't take away from my time doing all the things a principal needs to do."
– Mathew Riley, Principal, Cross Country Elementary/Middle School, Baltimore
"We had no suspensions this year of K-3 students as a result of Experience Corps. The volunteers caught a lot of situations early, which made the difference. Plus, the program has made a difference in reading comprehension, language, and vocabulary. It allows teachers to individualize instruction better and meet the specialized needs of children."
– Jackie Waters-Scofield, principal, Guilford Elementary/Middle, Baltimore
"Experience Corps members provide extra hands, extra eyes, extra help, extra time. This program is a wonderful opportunity, and its members are truly a part of our family."
– Debbie Thomas, principal, Medfield Heights Elementary, Baltimore
"Experience Corps volunteers have been a very valuable addition to the Russell School. They have really helped the kids academically, both in their reading and through the extra opportunities for oral language development. Finally, and wonderfully, from a harried administrator's point of view, the program, with its on-site coordinator, runs itself."
– Barbara Corey, principal, William Russell Elementary, Boston
"I am pleased that nine Boston Public Schools are among the many whose children benefit from the support of Experience Corps...I appreciate your presence in Boston Public Schools and the positive difference your program makes in the lives of children."
– Thomas W. Payzant, former Superintendent, Boston Public Schools
"The Experience Corps members working in my school are having a positive impact on our students' academic and social performance. The students are boosting their self-esteem and elevating their self-confidence. Many of the members live close by, so some children have begun to establish outside friendships developed from the tutoring sessions. They are becoming like surrogate grandparents. I know that the members gain as much as the children. I see it in their faces when a child who didn't read suddenly turns around due to their efforts. The program works."
– Suzanne Federspeil, Principal, Thomas J. Kenney Elementary School, Boston
"The individual attention and emphasis on comprehension leads to enormous gains in literacy skills among participating students. It's clear how much the students love working with the tutors."
– Liz Steinhauser, Director of Youth Programs, St. Stephens Episcopal Church, Boston
"Since we've had Experience Corps in our school, we've seen a significant change in student achievement. Our school has many students who come from shelters, and the interaction with the Experience Corps members benefits them not only academically, but socially as well."
– Katrinka Dean, principal, John W. Raper Elementary School, Cleveland
"We feel very fortunate to have this marvelous program in our school because it has benefited so many of our students. It helps students feel capable of completing tasks in a manner that meets the standards of the school. It also helps them believe that they can connect successfully with others. And, as a result of working on a one-on-one basis, it helps students acquire the skills that make it possible for them to be contributing members in their classrooms."
– Dorothy Carmichael, principal, P.S. 29, New York City
"The commitment and caring of the volunteers makes the children eager to work with them."
– Carol Pertchik, principal, P.S. 277, New York City
"Experience Corps helps me reach my goals by providing quality one-on-one help to those students who need it the most. Corps members are well trained, self-managed, and will go out of their way to do whatever is needed to help students gain success."
– Rosemary Cataldi, principal, Cook Wissahickon Elementary, Philadelphia
"Experience Corps helps us meet our goals by taking the Core Curriculum a step further for children in need. The tutors provide a consistent, reliable intervention that allows students who are falling behind an opportunity to reach proficiency. We look forward to our PSSA results in the spring and truly believe that our scores will increase, and Experience Corps will be a part of the success."
– Debora Borges-Carrera, principal, McKinley Elementary School, Philadelphia
"Experience Corps shows us that we cannot meet the needs of our children alone. Experience Corps members bring the strength of the community into the schools."
– Shirl E. Gilbert, II, Regional Superintendent, Philadelphia.
"In addition to raising our students' academic performance, we are becoming increasingly appreciative of the other improvements that the program brings, chief among them being fewer classroom disruptions and reduced conflict in the hallways and schoolyard. The result: a greater sense of community. And where there is a strong sense of community, everyone benefits. In brief, this is a win-win-win for all of us!"
– Clint Wilkins, Head of School, Civicorps Elementary School, Oakland
"Experience Corps members are a dynamic, vibrant, knowledgeable, vivacious, caring group of people. The tutoring they provided in grades K, 1 and 2 directly impacted the success that the third grade students achieved this year. DeQueen Elementary is the only school in the Port Arthur Independent School District that had 100% mastery on the third grade TAKS test in reading and math. These students were served three years prior to taking the test by Experience Corps workers. It is undeniable that this illustrious group has made a direct impact on our students."
– Gladdie Fowler, principal, DeQueen Elementary School, Port Arthur, Texas
"We cannot say enough kind words about the support our Experience Corps members have brought to our students and staff. We are particularly excited about the connections these talented seniors have made with children who are in need of a special friend or mentor. There is no question that our program has been enhanced this year by the addition of Experience Corps."
– Sue Braithwaite, principal, Barnes Elementary School, Portland, Oregon
"Experience Corps is great. The thing that stands out about the program is the quality, consistency, and reliability of the people they bring in. Magic happens when volunteers make that one-on-one or small group connection with children. It's priceless."
– David Wong, principal, Francis Scott Key Elementary, San Francisco
"Experience Corps members bring an incredible wealth of experience to share with our students. They establish relationships with the students that enable youth to grow, not only academically, but as people. Their generous gift of time can be instrumental in changing students' lives."
– Ann Strong, teacher, Everett Middle School, San Francisco
"There have been very positive results with Experience Corps. Our assessment data, including DIBELS, have shown great gains.Our students thrive with the attention; they show more self-confidence, and have plenty of opportunities to practice their language skills with each half-hour session."
– Rhonda Ray, Language Arts Coordinator, Thew Elementary School
"We are so grateful to have Experience Corps at our school this year. We have seen tremendous growth in the students. They have not only improved in reading as shown by DIBELS and NWEA scores, they have developed self confidence and a love for reading. The organization is so well run that my role as site coordinator has not been difficult because of the help I receive from the tutors and supervisors of the program. The volunteers are all extremely professional and knowledgeable. We appreciate all that they do for our students."
–France Sullivan, Language Arts Coach, Holdeman Elementary School, Tempe
"Any time you have organization, leadership and shared vision, you have a more effective program. Those are the qualities that Experience Corps brings. We want the most value we can get out of our instructional time, and the frequency of visits and length of commitment of Experience Corps members provides this value."
– Dr. Nic Clement, Superintendent, Flowing Wells School District, Tucson
"Experience Corps is an exceptional intervention. The members make a real impact. They have become an important part of the school, and we're all the better for it."
– Dr. Lynette Patton Principal, Centennial Elementary School, Tucson
"We consider Experience Corps one of the best community programs we have been privileged to host."
– Leroy Owens, principal, Birney Elementary, Washington, DC
"At first I did not think I wanted older people in my school. Now I know how much they bring – not just for the students, but also for the teachers, especially the new ones."
– Ann Thomas, principal, Scott Montgomery Elementary, Washington, DC
"It was obvious to me from the first that these volunteers really enter the lives of our children. What they do is truly invaluable."
– Sharron Stromann, West School Principal, Washington,
"West school is blessed to have such a diligent and hardworking group of tutors and mentors. Our Experience Corps members begin each day with a smile, knowing they will help a child. This program is a great support to our school, students and parents."
– Carol Paig, School Counselor, West Elementary School, Washington, DC
