Springfield College AmeriCorps Students Host Mayor Domenic Sarno at Boland Elementary School

Springfield College AmeriCorps members hosted Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno at the Boland Elementary School on Tuesday, April 1, as part of the second annual Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service.  Sarno issued a mayoral proclamation naming April 1, 2014, as National Service Recognition Day and he witnessed Springfield College AmeriCorps members implementing the Massachusetts Reading Corps program.  Joining Sarno was Springfield College President Mary-Beth Cooper and Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Daniel J. Warwick. 

The AmeriCorps program at Springfield College is the largest in Western Massachusetts and has benefitted the city of Springfield and Springfield Public Schools for the previous 17 years.  More than 70 Springfield College AmeriCorps members are placed in 14 Springfield Public Schools and in public and private pre-K classrooms each year through the College’s School Turnaround Initiative, Student Success Corps, and Massachusetts Reading Corps programs.  During the 2012-13 academic year, Springfield College AmeriCorps members serving as academic coaches, school counselors, and literacy tutors provided 44,500 hours of service to more than 470 Springfield students leading to academic success in English and math, and improved results in early literacy skills, attendance, and behavior.

In 2013, 832 mayors representing nearly 100 million citizens participated in the inaugural Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service.  The initiative is led by the Corporation for National and Community Service; Cities of Service; the National League of Cities; and Mesa, Ariz. Mayor and President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Scott Smith.

The AmeriCorps program at Springfield College is supported in part by the Corporation for National and Community Service, the U.S. Department of Education, the Massachusetts Service Alliance, the Funder Collaborative for Reading Success, and the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation.