Seattle, Washington

Notre Dame AmeriCorps in Seattle has shared a longtime partnership and vision with Sound Youth AmeriCorps*VISTA, a program of The Church Council of Greater Seattle. While we now function as two separate teams, we share a common mission and vision in supporting young people in Seattle and the greater Puget Sound.

Currently, our NDA members directly serve the young people in our community by providing college readiness curriculum and support, implementing after-school enrichment activities, assisting in classrooms, teaching reading and literacy skills, and being strong adult allies and mentors.

However, we can't accomplish all our goals alone! In order to better serve the youth and communities of King County, NDA-Seattle calls on the strengths, talents, insight, and passion of its team members, alumni, supervisors, community allies, and the students themselves. Furthermore, we seek out the resources and assets of our community to challenge and develop our members throughout their year of service, utilizing local trainers and organizations, community events, our partner organizations and schools, other local AmeriCorps teams, and more!

Site Director: Emma Ramsbottom
Phone: 206-525-1213 ext. 3110
E-mail: seattle@ndmva.org
Websites: www.soundyouth.org

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College Access Now (CAN)
www.collegeaccessnow.org/

College Access Now is dedicated to helping promising, low-income young people prepare for and earn admission to college. Its mission is to identify high school students who are economically disadvantaged, among the first-generation in their families to go to college, and demonstrate potential and motivation to pursue higher education. CAN assists students with deciding where to apply and completing college applications, writing personal statements, completing financial aid forms, SAT/ACT test preparation, and more!

NDA members work with a cohort of approximately 30 juniors or seniors, and duties include recruiting students, supporting them as they complete the elements of the program, and running after-school sessions.

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.

Urban League Scholars
www.urbanleague.org

The Urban League Scholars Program at Garfield High School 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, Urban League 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.