
The Schools of Hope (SOH) project is a dynamic community partnership led by United Way of Dane County, the Madison Metropolitan School District and Sun Prairie Area School District.
What started in 1995 as a civic journalism project by the Wisconsin State Journal and WISC-TV has evolved and developed into an evidence-based model of tutoring intervention fueled by dedicated AmeriCorps members and community volunteers.
The mission of SOH is to provide literacy tutoring support to improve the academic achievement of kindergarten through fifth-grade students. Since 1998, United Way has received grant support for SOH through AmeriCorps (formerly the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)) to perform in-school tutoring for area elementary schools. Schools of Hope provides:
Trained AmeriCorps Tutor Coordinators and community volunteers tutoring elementary students (identified by teaching staff) that would benefit from additional literacy support.
Ongoing training for both AmeriCorps members and volunteer tutors.
Tutoring activities and materials guided by classroom teachers.
Support for school-based family literacy programs


