City of Davenport AmeriCorps Program

The City of Davenport AmeriCorps/Youth AmeriCorps Program expands on a partnership
between the City and the Davenport Community School District to bring community interventions to at-risk students. This program seeks to reduce dropout rates among at-risk students, connect them to the community in positive ways, build their jobs skills and provide them with tools to encourage their educational persistence and success.

AmeriCorps members will coordinate the delivery of community resources and programs to at-risk students in schools. They will expand the capacity of the Stepping Stones and Pathways programs, which offer academic assistance, enrichment, recreation, and career exploration experiences to local at-risk youth. In addition, AmeriCorps members will increase the number of mentoring relationship throughout
the Quad Cities using the Big Brothers Big Sisters model. Finally, they will identify and
coordinate service opportunities and projects for at-risk youth.

Each year 40 local Davenport High School students who have been identified as being at risk for dropping out of school will serve as Youth AmeriCorps members, participating in summer service projects that will provide them with unique experience in a broad range of career fields including science, communications, teaching, urban planning, law enforcement, library sciences,
and government. These activities will reconnect these youth to the community and give
them the real-world career-oriented experiences that will encourage them to complete their education.