2024 Engage Every Student Recognition Program Champions

In its inaugural year, the Engage Every Student Recognition Program is celebrating 13 nonprofit organizations and cities, working in partnership with their local school districts for their efforts to expand access to high-quality afterschool and summer-learning programs throughout the country. 

Learn more about each Program Champion below:

2024 Engage Every Student Champion Georgia Camp Twin Lakes Camp Twin Lakes partnered with Hall County School System and leveraged $225,000 in ESSER funding to expand access to residential summer programming for elementary and middle school students. Compared to 2021, the Camp’s 2023 summer programs engaged triple the number of students in therapeutic activities such as mountain biking, rock wall climbing, yoga, mindfulness and self-care lessons, art and music therapy, team building programs, equine therapy, meditation and reflection time, and other outdoor activities.
Georgia-Camp Twin Lakes
2024 Engage Every Student Champion South Dakota Black Hills Special Services Cooperative Black Hills Special Services Cooperative partnered with Rapid City Area School District and The City of Rapid, South Dakota to leverage nearly $300,000 in ESSER funding to double the capacity of their afterschool and summer learning program for K-12 students. The Cooperative engaged nearly 1,000 students in Discovery Programs, which were designed to meet the diverse needs of students by providing academic support, fostering positive behavioral support and social skills, and offering engaging activities for both students and families.
South Dakota-Black Hills Special Services Cooperative
2024 Engage Every Student Champion South Carolina Boys and Girls Clubs of the Pee Dee Area Boys and Girls Clubs of the Pee Dee Area leveraged $500,000 in ARP ESSER funding in partnership with Florence 1 Schools and Florence School District 3 to increase their afterschool and summer learning program capacity by more than 50%. The Clubs engage K-12 students in programming focused on academic performance, learning loss, social and emotional learning, STEM, and youth development.
South Carolina-Boys and Girls Clubs of the Pee Dee Area
2024 Engage Every Student Champion Oregon Todos Juntos Todos Juntos leveraged $120,000 in ESSER funding in partnership with the Canby, Estacada, Molalla, Sandy, and Clackamas School Districts in Oregon to provide afterschool and summer learning programming for more than 1,000 elementary and middle school students. In addition to engaging students in tutoring services to boost their learning outcomes and self-confidence, Todos Juntos offers enriching afterschool clubs, providing a safe and stimulating environment for children to explore various interests such as arts, sports, and STEM activities, fostering creativity, teamwork, and personal growth.
Oregon-Todos Juntos
2024 Engage Every Student Champion Ohio Ohio Urban Renaissance Ohio Urban Renaissance in partnership with Youngstown City School District leveraged more than $550,000 in ARP ESSER funding to double their afterschool program capacity. The program engaged high school students in academic enrichment and experiential learning inclusive of project-based learning, enrichment workshops, career exploration, and field trips to foster creativity, critical thinking, and real-world application of academic concepts.
Ohio-Urban Renaissance
2024 Engage Every Student Champion New Jersey iLearn Schools, Inc. iLearn Schools, Inc. partnered with North Jersey Arts and Science Charter Schools at Bergen Arts & Science and Passaic Arts & Science Charter Schools to expand access by 72% to afterschool and summer learning for more than 300 additional elementary and middle school students. By leveraging nearly $3 million in ARP ESSER funding, the program engaged students in the iRise program to address unfinished learning and in the iStellar program to recognize and nurture high ability, creativity, and achievement.
New Jersey-iLearn Schools, Inc.
2024 Engage Every Student Champion New Hampshire YMCA of Greater Nashua YMCA of Greater Nashua, in partnership with Nashua School District, leveraged $84,000 in ESSER funding to engage K-12 students in afterschool and summer learning. Together, the YMCA and the school district prioritized preventing summer learning loss in math and aimed to foster physical and social-emotional growth through the Power Scholars Academy.
New Hampshire-YMCA of Greater Nashua
2024 Engage Every Student Champion Nebraska Lincoln Community Learning Centers Lincoln Community Learning Centers partnered with Lincoln Public Schools to expand access to afterschool and summer learning programs for more than 1,700 elementary, middle, and high school students. Together, the Learning Centers leveraged more than $1 million in ARP ESSER funding to design out-of-school time programs based on students’ needs and interests.
Nebraska-Lincoln Community Learning Centers
2024 Engage Every Student Champion Mississippi Scientific Research "SR" 1 Scientific Research “SR” 1, in partnership with Forest Municipal School District, leveraged $450,000 in ARP ESSER funding to triple their program capacity for K-12 students. Through their afterschool and summer learning program, SR1 ensured that students had opportunities to develop their academic and innovation skills in literacy, math, science, technology, engineering, arts, family and relationship education, life and career skills, healthy lifestyles, outdoor and recreational activities, and civic literacy.
Mississippi-Scientific Research “SR” 1
2024 Engage Every Student Champion Connecticut EdAdvance BASES EdAdvance BASES partnered with Torrington School District and leveraged nearly $300,000 in ARP ESSER funding to expand access to afterschool and summer learning for elementary and middle school students. The program integrated daily science experiments, arts and crafts projects, cooking activities, cooperative games, fitness activities, and other hands-on experiences to promote STEM education, social-emotional learning, nutritional awareness, and overall well-being.
Connecticut-EdAdvance BASES
Idaho Community Youth in Action Community Youth in Action partnered with Idaho Falls School District 91 and Bonneville School District 93 to leverage $2 million in ARP ESSER funding for afterschool and summer learning for middle and high school students. The program engaged students in structured tutoring and a variety of enrichment activities, including fitness to promote physical well-being, music to foster artistic expression, STEM to stimulate critical thinking and problem-solving skills, art for creativity and self-expression, leadership activities to cultivate leadership qualities, and volunteerism opportunities to instill a sense of community engagement.
Idaho-Community Youth in Action
2024 Engage Every Student Champion Maryland Arts for Learning Maryland Arts for Learning Maryland partnered with Baltimore City Public Schools to engage nearly 2,200 elementary and middle school students in afterschool and summer learning programs. Leveraging nearly $8 million in ESSER funding, the program focused on arts integration grounded in the notion that providing students access to math and literacy content through the arts can be transformative.
Maryland-Arts in Learning Maryland
2024 Engage Every Student Champion Illinois Compass for Kids, Inc. Compass for Kids, Inc. partnered with Springfield Public Schools – District 186 and leveraged $2.1 million in ARP ESSER funding to nearly double the capacity of the Camp Compass summer learning program for elementary school students. The Camp incorporated a balance of academic and enrichment activities to prevent summer learning loss and improve reading and math skills.
Illinois-Compass for Kids, Inc.