Cause: Enrich Public Education
Solution: An Army of Artists and Educators

It's no secret that as education budgets are cut across the country, our children are losing out on arts and science education of all sorts - despite the fact that study after study shows that they are vital to the development of children's minds. Saint Louis Public Schools are no exception, but they have a secret weapon - a trained army of artists and educators that fill classrooms with energy, art and science and all sorts of humanities education. Springboard To Learning is a 501 C3 that is the region's largest provider of in-school academic and cultural enrichment programs serving around 95,000 students with 230,000 student contact hours each year. More than half of the students and two thirds of program hours are in underserved schools. Their programs emphasize "minds-on" and "hands-on" activities that are aligned with state and national education standards. We also work with teachers to help them grow professionally.

This privately funded organization enriches the public schools in a way that we can all learn from.

And yes, I proudly admit that I was a Springboard To Learning teacher for several years. If I had the time and money, I would be recreating Springboard To Learning in every city across the country. But you can learn about them and see if you can bring a program like this in to a classroom near you.