America SCORES
This project's parent organization is America SCORES
It operates in United States
It uses Football (Soccer)
Shortlisted for the Sport for Education Award
More about America SCORES
Using soccer in combination with poetry and service learning after-school, America SCORES programs are proven to improve the health and achievement of underserved youth. America SCORES’ kids are at a crucial time in their development physically, intellectually, and socially. One in five US elementary school children is overweight.
In some of the cities we serve, more than 70% of 3rd-6th graders read below 3rd grade levels, and the dropout rate indicates diminishing school engagement levels. Many youth programs address one or two of these risk factors, but America SCORES is the only program proven to address all of them: physical fitness, literacy, confidence, and school engagement. In the fall, students in our programs practice soccer twice a week, write poetry twice a week, and play a soccer game to end each week.
The fall program ends with a Community Poetry SLAM! in each city where students perform their poems in front of an audience. In the spring, students keep the same soccer schedule while the writing curriculum shifts focus to service. Students spend the spring season designing and completing a fully youth-led service learning project, which they share with the community during an event we call SHOUT!