[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 66 (Wednesday, May 5, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E748]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING THE EXPERIENCE CORPS PROGRAM

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 5, 2010

  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the 
Experience Corps Program of South East Texas on 15 years of improving 
the academic and life outcomes of our area's neediest young students. 
The remarkable Experience Corps engages older Americans to serve as 
literacy tutors in elementary schools; and they have had a tremendous 
impact.
  Experience Corps South East Texas, initially known as Seniors for 
Schools, was one of the original five Experience Corps pilot projects 
across the country. It began as a demonstration grant in 1995-96 in two 
Port Arthur elementary schools with 17 members; and has grown locally 
to 67 members serving all seven PA elementary schools, 6 schools in 
Beaumont, and another in Vidor. They have served in excess of 2,875 
students in these schools, and have always and continue to be the only 
tutoring program of their kind in the State of Texas.
  We are lucky to have such a program in our schools--not only because 
of the vitality and sense of family and community that these volunteers 
bring, but also the significant academic gains they have enabled. In 
2006 Experience Corps South East Texas, Port Arthur was part of a 
national, gold standard evaluation conducted by Washington University 
in St. Louis which revealed that students in the Experience Corps 
program made 60% greater gains in reading comprehension and word attack 
skills than similar students who were not in the program. Very, very 
few literacy interventions have shown these kinds of results.
  The Principal of DeQueen Elementary School calls these volunteers, 
``a dynamic, vibrant, knowledgeable, vivacious, caring group of 
people.'' I could not agree more. In fact, they are an inspiration to 
their peers and neighbors, and proof that the aging population has 
tremendous time, talent, skill, and a desire to share it all with 
younger generations. Experience Corps is a perfect match for these 
individuals.
  On May 13, Experience Corps South East Texas will celebrate 15 
consecutive and successful years of service, and I am honored to call 
these motivated and caring adults my constituents. They have provided a 
meaningful and engaging opportunity for senior citizens to serve one on 
one with students in need, and a consistent tutoring program with 
measurable results for elementary students. I commend them for their 
terrific work over these past 15 years and hope they can continue to 
serve our students and community for many years to come.

                          ____________________