Community Impact

The Fishing School programs aim to help children develop into independent, productive and contributing members of society, who rise above daily challenges and open their eyes to a world of possibilities.

2010 program Accomplishments:

93.5% of Rising Stars (elementary participants) and Rising Scholars (middle school participants) demonstrated improved academic performance.
66% improved by one or more proficiency levels in math and reading.
85% showed improvement in self-esteem.
86% attended the program regularly.

2009 Program Accomplishments:

73 percent of students demonstrated improvement in academic performance,
62 percent of students improved in completing homework assignments,
63 percent of students improved their classroom participation,
85 percent of students showed improvement in their self-esteem, and
86 percent of students in the program attended regularly.

Why is out-of-school time programming so important?

The number of children unsupervised after school has risen to 15.1 million; this is 26 percent of all youths.
New evidence shows that the level of achievement by the 8th grade is a stronger indicator in college and workforce success than a high school diploma.
Students who do not participate in after-school activities are 49 percent more likely to use drugs and 37 percent more likely to become teen parents that students who invest only one to four hours per week participating in after-school activities.
An astounding two-thirds of the 9th grade achievement gap can be explained by unequal access to summer learning opportunities during the elementary school years.

Why the need for support in Washington, D.C.?

11 D.C. public school students drop out of the system each day.
9 percent of students commencing their freshman year of high school will complete college in five years.
Only 31 percent of students meet or exceed District math standards.
Only 36 percent of students meet or exceed District reading standards.

The Fishing School transformed the Allen family.

“I can not count all the time, energy and money that was given to me...I thank God for all of you.” - William Allen, Jr., TFS parent

Demographic Profile of Communities Served