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The Experience Corps (EC) program brings adults aged 55+ into public elementary schools to work with children who are at risk of academic failure. The EC program began in 1995 in five cities and has grown to include 23 sites. Currently, there are nearly 2,000 EC tutors serving approximately 20,000 students. Older adults are recruited to serve in this program and receive training focused on literacy and relationship-building. Each Experience Corps volunteer, or “member,” is assigned as part of a team to a local elementary school participating in the program. At the beginning of the school year, teachers refer low-achieving students to the program; and EC members begin regular tutoring with the children.

Researchers at the Center for Social Development at Washington University’s Brown School were awarded a grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies to evaluate the effects of the EC program on student reading outcomes. Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. provided data collection services.