Zach Johnson Foundation

The Zach Johnson Foundation founded Kids on Course with one single mission: Close the opportunity gap. Because all kids should have the chance to achieve their dreams.

• About Us
  Kids who are behind in 4th grade in reading are four times more likely to drop out of high school and 13 times more likely to not graduate from high school on time. Kids who drop out of high school are ineligible for 90% of jobs in America. They are also twice as likely to abuse drugs, five times more likely to be involved in gangs and five times more likely to go to prison. Students attending the Kids on Course year-round program are six times more likely to be on grade level in reading compared to peers not in the program. Education is the ticket to breaking the cycle of poverty and having a life of opportunity.
  
  We are based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at eight high poverty schools in the Cedar Rapids Community School District: Cedar River Academy, Grant, Harrison, Hoover, and Van Buren Elementary Schools, Roosevelt and Wilson Middle Schools and Jefferson and Kennedy High Schools.
  
  Kids on Course provides tutoring, enrichment, parent engagement, summer learning and long-term mentoring. Our program begins with students in elementary schools and follows them throughout their educational career.
• Our Impact
  We believe that it’s not enough to just say we are making an impact, which is why we rely on data to inform our decisions and drive the direction of the work we do. Kids on Course uses the same measurements for math and reading as the Cedar Rapids Community School District, to ensure our students truly are on track to post secondary education.
  
  For the 2016-17 school year:
  
  Five-hundred and five students attend the high-quality after school Learning Lab tutoring program. Seventy-two percent of those lived below 185% of the federal poverty line. Data: 92% of those students grew their reading scores, 26% grew more than one grade's level worth in reading, 54% are now on grade level in reading.
  
  For summer 2017:
  
  Seven-hundred and fifty-eight students attended Kids on Course University, a 7-week summer program full of learning, meals, field trips, and small group instruction by certified teachers. Data: 86% grew in math, 75% grew in reading.
  
  Rising 6th, 7th, and 8th graders participated in Kids on Course Scholar Camp, a free five-week summer program intended to boost preparedness for the upcoming school year and build positive adult and peer relationships.
  
  Students who are committed to Kids on Course for two or more years are more likely than their peers to be on grade level in reading than their peers at their school, in the Cedar Rapids school district, and the state of Iowa. Data: 57% of students in the Cedar Rapids school district are on grade level in reading; 66% of students in the state of Iowa are on grade level in reading; 74% of committed Kids on Course students are on grade level in reading.