Seattle, Washington

In many ways, Seattle fulfills plenty of the stereotypes it's known for nationally: it's a politically progressive hotbed where delicious coffee flows like water and rainy days are here to stay! But there's much more to this place than waterproof jackets and gluten-free desserts. People who take the time to explore the Emerald City soon find that the Seattle community is incredibly diverse, vibrant, and strongly committed to youth empowerment and education. Best of all, Seattle is a major hub for AmeriCorps programs of all kinds, and serving in this city grants you automatic entry into a fun, welcoming network of service members from all across the country.

Site Director: Emma Ramsbottom
Phone: 206-525-1213 ext. 3110
E-mail: seattle@ndmva.org
Website: http://ndaseattle.wordpress.com/ (member blog)

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Community Schools Collaboration (CSC)
www.cscwa.org

Community Schools Collaboration partners with families, schools, and communities to create the conditions where all children can learn, grow, and thrive. CSC works in schools in south King County where many children and youth face high barriers both inside and outside of the classroom. The integrated programs help students and their families build the skills and assets they need for academic and personal success.

NDA members serve in classrooms during the school day, offering academic support to students in classrooms with the highest level of need. Members also play a key role in the after-school program as academic assistants in the Homework Help Centers and leading or facilitating various enrichment activities that play on the strengths and passions that each individual member brings to the site.

Check out the high school program blog at http://csctyee.wordpress.com

Read Right
www.readright.com

Read Right is a literacy class for high school students who are reading below grade level. The program utilizes a combination of reading out loud and independently, listening to books on tape, participating in group critical thinking exercises, and a variety of tailored writing exercises once a week. Read Right has a 100% success rate. Students improve their reading by as many as seven grade levels, often in the space of one semester. Students continue in the program until they are reading at ninth-grade level, at which point they return to a regular Language Arts class and often go on to take honors and AP classes. Read Right is designed to give students the opportunity to constantly experience success, and when they are ready to graduate the program they are asked to reflect on their experience and to listen to a "before and after" tape of their reading, so they can fully understand their degree of improvement.

NDA members work with four students at a time, so each student receives a great deal of personal attention from their literacy coach. Members receive extensive training from the reading teacher in charge of the classroom and take on high levels of responsibility for students' progress and the running of the program. Time is also devoted to preparation and special projects, such as organizing peer tutoring or providing free books.

Scholars at Garfield

Scholars at Garfield serves 130 students of African or African American descent who have the desire to accelerate their learning potential and prepare for post-secondary education. Housed at Garfield High School, a diverse and richly cultured school, Scholars provides students with academic support and mentoring, family and community involvement and support, college readiness, and life and leadership opportunities.

NDA members serve as Academic Advisors providing mentoring and academic support to 9th and 10th grade students through after-school study club, classroom visits, and other activities, or providing college readiness, mentoring, and academic assistance to 11th and 12th graders.

El Centro de la Raza
www.elcentrodelaraza.com

El Centro de la Raza is a voice and a hub for Seattle’s Latino community as it advocates on behalf of our people and work to achieve social justice. Through its comprehensive programs and services, El Centro empowers members of the Latino community as fully participating members of society.

One such effort is El Centro's College Readiness Program, which is coordinated and implemented at the high school level by NDA members. Members work with Latino youth at Seattle high schools to coach them through the college preparation process, assisting students with everything from basic applications to financial aid paperwork to scholarship research.