We are based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at nine high poverty schools in the Cedar Rapids Community School District: Grant, Harrison, Hoover, Cedar River Academy at Taylor, and Van Buren Elementary Schools, Roosevelt Creative Corridor Business Academy and Wilson Middle School and Jefferson and Kennedy High Schools. We are are looking to grow!
Kids on Course provides tutoring, enrichment, parent engagement, summer learning and long-term mentoring. Our program begins with students in ... Read More
We are based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at nine high poverty schools in the Cedar Rapids Community School District: Grant, Harrison, Hoover, Cedar River Academy at Taylor, and Van Buren Elementary Schools, Roosevelt Creative Corridor Business Academy and Wilson Middle School and Jefferson and Kennedy High Schools. We are are looking to grow!
Kids on Course provides tutoring, enrichment, parent engagement, summer learning and long-term mentoring. Our program begins with students in elementary schools and follows them throughout their educational career.
TUTORING
Provides academic support and resources to teachers, parents, and students to ensure a clear path to graduating from high school and post-secondary education.
ENRICHMENT
Collaborate with artists, athletes and creatives to improve students’ self-efficacy, resiliency, academic achievement and engagement in school.
FAMILY ENGAGEMENT
Provide an avenue through which families can be positively connected to school and the community and engaged in their student’s learning.
NAVIGATE BARRIERS
Connect schools and families to community resources to ensure that students are physically, socially, and emotionally ready to learn.
Why Education?
Kids who are behind in 4th grade in reading are four times more likely to drop out of high school and 13 times more likely to not graduate from high school on time. Kids who drop out of high school are ineligible for 90% of jobs in America.
They are also twice as likely to abuse drugs, five times more likely to be involved in gangs and five times more likely to go to prison. Students attending the Kids on Course year-round program are six times more likely to be on grade level in reading compared to peers not in the program. Education is the ticket to breaking the cycle of poverty and having a life of opportunity.
School Year Program
Kids on Course staff work full-time in the schools they serve. Being on the ground level allows for long-lasting relationships with students, families and staff. Our program provides a cocoon of supports to wrap around students: addressing barriers that prevent students from learning, engaging families in their student's education, providing enrichment opportunities and supporting academics so students are on the path to college. Students enter the program in elementary school and we follow their educational journey throughout high school.
Summer Programs
Summer learning loss accounts for 2/3 of the achievement gap in the United States. This is why Kids on Course has three academic summer programs for students who are at risk of losing academic skills and becoming further disengaged in learning over the summer. Kids on Course University is for elementary students, Scholar Camp is for middle school students, and High School Academy is for high school students.
Post-Secondary
We are committed to seeing Kids on Course students succeed, not just in elementary school, but to and through post-secondary education. Kids on Course will continue to support the students we serve by providing scholarships for them to earn a degree, learn a trade, or pursue another learning opportunity after high school. The Kids on Course College Scholarship Program is funded by the Kids on Course Classic and donors who want to invest in our students' long-term success after high school.
Impact
Sometimes numbers and graphs can't truly encompass the impact our program is making in the lives of students in Cedar Rapids. While we have data that has been evaluated by outside companies and studies of Kids on Course's effectiveness in improving academics, we invite you to share a glimpse into the lives of some of our students and how they have been impacted by Kids on Course.
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Kids on Course is committed to cultivating a culture of inclusion because we grow and learn better together. Our individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, self-expression, and talent are what each of us brings to our program. These differences represent not only part of our culture, but our reputation and our success as well. In recruiting for our team, we welcome unique contributions in terms of education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran status, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and beliefs.
Our students come from all walks of life and we strive to as well. At Kids on Course, our goal is to close the opportunity gap, because all kids should have the chance to achieve their dreams, find their place in the world and pursue their passions. We continually celebrate the diverse community we are a part of and our goal is to stay true to our mission by ensuring that our place can be anyone’s place.
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