hosts Experience Corps in Washington, DC

For more information, contact: Taffanie Ketema Experience Corps/CentroNía Phone: 202-332-4200 x 126 tketema@centronia.org

In the 2006-2007 school year:

• 63% of students moved up 0.5 grade levels or more in reading; 15% moved up two grade levels or more.
  
• 81% of teachers stated that students in E.C. had significant improvement in reading.
  
• 92% of teachers stated that students who worked with Experience Corps members had as much or more progress than expected.
  
• 98% of volunteers reported being satisfied with their tutoring experience.
  
• 97% agreed their service was useful to the community.
  
• 100% agreed that their service was useful to the school and the students they served.
  
• 94% agreed that Experience Corps allowed them to better understand the needs of the school.
  
• 83% agree that Experience Corps allowed them to better understand the needs of the community in which they serve.
  
• 90% agree that Experience Corps allowed them to socialize with other adults.
  
• 95% agree that Experience Corps allowed them to learn about new topics.

Judy Denny, a retired lawyer who is confined to a wheelchair, and Virginia Lee, a retired communications consultant, were among nine finalists who received the Mayor's Community Service Award this year. They were honored at a special awards banquet in November. Denny has tutored students in reading for four years. Lee has tutored for two years at Scott Montgomery Elementary School and also led a campaign to re-open the school library.

Gloria Thomas was honored as a Super Senior by the Citizens Advisory Council of IONA Senior Services, a local organization that provides services to older adults.
This was Thomas's second year as a tutor and classroom assistant at Bowen Elementary School.

Anna Paige, a tutor and classroom assistant at Webb Elementary School, was spotlighted on one of the first shows aired on Retirement Living TV, a national cable network that is aimed specifically at Americans 55 and older. Retirement Living TV airs on DirecTV Channel 238 and in the DC area on Comcast Channel 8.

Queenie Hill, a tutor and classroom assistant at West Elementary School, was interviewed by a group of American University graduate students as part of a project in communication and social change. The group identified seven successful programs in DC schools, interviewed people connected with those programs and published their results, both in print and on the web. They also shared their results with Victor Reinoso, Deputy Mayor for Education.


Five DC Experience Corps tutors were chosen to participate in a Learning and Leadership Exchange program facilitated by the Experience Corps national office this winter. After honing their leadership skills, Gloria Thomas, Virginia Lee, Senella Dancy, Leila Kendrick and Eunice Ricks planned a major community involvement project. They arranged for the Colgate Bright Smiles Bright Futures mobile dental van to visit Bowen Elementary School in May to examine the children's teeth and recommend follow-up dental care when necessary. Over 50% of the school's population was examined and many were referred for follow-up care. Concerned that dental care was out of reach for many of Bowen's low-income families, the volunteers wrote to the Mayor, exhorting him to make affordable health care programs available to all city residents.

These tutors realized that good health and good academic performance go hand in hand.