Richardson Dwellings After-School Program

Richardson Dwellings In the community room of the Richardson Dwellings apartments, our After-School Academic Enrichment Program provides homework help, academic tutoring in reading and math, and activities in secondary subjects such as science and nutrition for children 5-13 from 3:30 - 6:00 pm every school day. Our focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) helps children realize they can excel in the "hard" subjects in school, go to college, and possibly work in a fulfilling, lucrative STEM field. Because we know it's too late to wait until middle- or high-school level health classes to teach children to take responsibility for their health (evidenced by alarming rates of teen pregnancy, HIV, and obesity in young people ages 15-25), kids get a chance to make healthy decisions about diet and exercise each day. We are seeing success in helping children through consistent academic support and daily completion of homework, raising school achievement and gaining self-worth in and beyond the classroom.

This neighborhood has approximately 4,000 residents, one-third are children (62% in poverty). Our proposed location is one block from the MPD 50th St. NE Violent Crime Focus Area, plagued by illegal drug activity. While the nearby Lincoln Heights neighborhood has a family enhancement center and food distribution programs, gang- and crew-related violence keeps children from crossing over to take advantage of these services. Statistics for Drew ES (3 blocks away) show that 60% of students are below basic in reading and 70% are below basic in math. Additionally, Richardson Dwellings is part of DC's New Communities Initiative Revitalization Plan. As this transition will include the eventual demolition and rebuilding of Richardson Dwellings, this is a critical time to offer support to resident families.