Spotlight On

Mission:
The mission of Heads Up is to provide children and youth from low-income neighborhoods with the academic skills and learning opportunities they need to succeed and to give college students the chance to help address those needs in order to promote their development as effective social change leaders.

Background:
Heads Up was founded 12 years ago by two Harvard graduates, Darin McKeever and Vincent Pan. While in college, Darin and Vin volunteered with an after-school tutoring program through Harvard's public service organization. Bringing their experience to Washington, DC, they created Heads Up to provide after-school literacy programs enlisting college students to serve as tutors. Heads Up operates after-school programs for hundreds of children in seven of the lowest-performing schools in Washington, DC.

To confront the systemic challenges of urban poverty and a failing school system, Heads Up offers a safe place for children to spend after-school hours receiving homework help and improving their reading skills. To give these children a strong academic footing, Heads Up developed a unique curriculum that is age and culturally appropriate and aligned with DC Public School standards. That way, the staff and volunteers can work closely with the teachers and principals in partner schools to reinforce daytime learning and track students' progress. In addition to the literacy program, the organization conducts enrichment opportunities with students, like field trips and local research projects. During the summer, it offers a full-time academic program that includes math, reading and community service days.

By using college students as tutors in classrooms, Heads Up enables them to forge relationships with school-age children, providing a powerful role model to kids who may not know anyone who has gone to college. College students are often enthusiastic, compassionate and idealistic, and connect easily with young children. With this unique approach of partnering college students with elementary school kids, Heads Up is changing lives, two at a time.

In 1996, Heads Up recruited 10 undergraduates to work with 30 elementary school students in one school. Today, the organization recruits over 200 college students to work with hundreds of students at seven schools.

Current Programs:
Heads Up runs after-school and summer programs for over 500 children across Washington, DC. The programs operate at six elementary schools and one middle school in the city, helping school-age students perform better academically, engage in school, develop positive relationships with adults and peers, and become aware of future educational opportunities. The programs offer a supportive, family-like learning community that reinforces in young people the values of hard work, continuing education and service to one's community.

Tutors guide Heads Up students through the literacy curriculum for three-and-a-half hours per day during the academic year and six hours per day for five weeks during the summer. The after-school and summer academic programs include reading, homework assistance and writing activities. Because many of these children don't often have the opportunity to leave their neighborhoods, field trips to local college campuses, historical sites and museums are included, as well as other project-based, academic enrichment activities.

Enrollment is open to all students in each neighborhood. Students range in age from 4 to 14. All services are offered free of charge.

Research shows that Heads Up has a powerful impact on students, schools, communities and college students who serve as tutors.

• Heads Up students reach reading proficiency at twice the rate of other students in the same schools.
• 90% of students said Heads Up helped them see how doing well in school can help them later.
• When asked if Heads Up improved their child's reading skills, 100% of parents said it did and that they would recommend the program to other parents.
• 99% of tutors say they are likely to serve their communities in the future, and 96% say that Heads Up had an impact on this interest.

Funding Needs:
Since Heads Up began 12 years ago, demand for its program has climbed, resulting in waiting lists. Serving more students will allow the organization to continue to give priority to families with several children in the program, while not excluding others who need its services. By helping more students learn to read, Heads Up can have an even greater impact on the neighborhoods it serves. Funding is a critical factor in the number of students served.

The "Spotlight On" highlights the activities of a different 501(c)3 nonprofit organization serving the Metropolitan Washington, DC community. The selection of organizations for the "Spotlight On" is based on criteria such as programmatic interests, geographic focus, and size, to ensure the broadest possible representation of the region's nonprofit sector.

If you'd like to see your NPO in the "Spotlight," please use this submission form to send us a profile of your organization. Or e-mail a description of your organization, following the above format, to kmb@foundationcenter.org, with "Spotlight Submission" in the subject line.