Children in metro Atlanta's public schools are in crisis.

• More than 52% of all Atlanta elementary school students are reading below the national norm.
• 65% of all Atlanta Public Schools (APS) students qualify for the free lunch program - a measure of poverty that tends to correlate with diminished academic performance.
• Georgia ranks last in the nation in the percentage of students completing high school.

Schools can't do it alone

The Hands On Atlanta Schools program works to address these issues and to improve the quality of education for metro Atlanta's public school students through direct citizen involvement in schools.

By engaging community volunteers, parents, teachers, colleges and universities, corporations and foundations in school-based programs such as HOA AmeriCorps, Reading Adds Up and Discovery, Hands On Atlanta Schools works to ensure that students have the fundamental resources necessary for academic success and success in life.

Hands On Atlanta AmeriCorps

AmeriCorps is a federally funded program that places full-time, stipended volunteers in service all over the country. Hands On Atlanta hosts the largest AmeriCorps program in the Southeast with 145 AmeriCorps members of all ages. Hands On Atlanta Corps members serve as teaching assistants, tutors, mentors and volunteer coordinators at metro Atlanta elementary, middle and high schools. AmeriCorps teams also coordinate service opportunities for students. These service-learning initiatives are designed to foster a sense of self and an ethic of service and civic responsibility in middle-and high school students. While serving in metro Atlanta schools, AmeriCorps members are also able to develop essential personal and professional skills that help them grow into effective and productive citizen leaders.

Reading Adds Up

Reading Adds Up is a new partnership between Hands On Atlanta, Atlanta Public Schools and Project GRAD Atlanta. By giving just one hour a week, you can help elementary or middle school students reading below their grade levels or struggling with math concepts to improve their skills, their confidence and their chances of academic success. As a Reading Adds Up reading tutor, you will meet with two students each week and read with each student one-on-one for 30 minutes. As a Reading Adds Up math tutor, you will work with small groups of students in the classroom, providing extra help with basic math skills.

Discovery Program

It's Saturday morning, and instead of sleeping in and watching cartoons, children throughout the Atlanta area are back in school sharpening their reading and math skills. Thanks to the Discovery program, a model educational initiative begun by Hands On Atlanta in 1990, children from low-income communities can participate in enrichment activities that will boost their aspirations and self-confidence.

Last year, 3,178 Discovery volunteers served 5,584 children at nine metro Atlanta elementary schools. A typical day may include reviewing lessons, working in skill-level groups on reading and math, and then focusing on a new subject such as volcanoes or the dynamics of flight. Students also take field trips to local sights such as Zoo Atlanta, the Yellow River Game Ranch, the Carter Center and World of Coca Cola.