Education First,
Athletics Second Coalition
Read, Succeed, & Achieve Program
The RSA Program provides youth in grades K-8 with the resources they need to improve their reading skills in order to better prepare them for high school and post-secondary education.
Kids Get Fit After School Program
Greyhound Athletics
The KGF After School Program helps youth become physically active by teaching the benefits of nutrition and exercise.
Greyhound Athletics involves student athletes from the Kansas City metro area and beyond. Players ages 8 to 17 represent a diverse cross section of the community and compete in three divisions.
OBJECTIVES:
1) To increase student reading skills by one grade level.
2) To help students increase reading speed, comprehension, and attention span.
OBJECTIVES:
1) To ensure children get a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity per day.
2) To develop children’s cardiovascular levels appropriate to their age.
3) To teach children and their parents the importance of choosing the right foods and eating at least two-to-three fruits and vegetables each day while minimizing sweets and packaged foods.
OBJECTIVES:
1) To ensure that all school student athletes are academically prepared for middle, high school, and college.
2) To empower participants with the resources needed to earn a college scholarship.
3) To teach life skills necessary to be productive, positive members of our community.
Childhood obesity represents a significant health challenge for Missouri families.
According to the 2023 Missouri Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 17% of Missouri high school students had obesity, with the rate reaching 25.8% among Black students.
Additionally, fewer than one in six Missouri high school students reported receiving at least 60 minutes of physical activity on five or more days during the previous week.
These disparities demonstrate the need for accessible, culturally responsive, and inclusive youth fitness programs
For the first time in 100 years, children today have a shorter life expectancy than their parents due to the obesity epidemic.
AGE 2006 TODAY
0-5 10.7% 14.9%
6-11 15.1% 22.1%
12-19 17.8% 22.9%
Despite the cut in physical education programs, schools are still identified as an important setting for the promotion of physical activity among children because they are cost effective and convenient.
Affordable after school fitness programs have positive outcomes on a child's overall physical activity levels.
Studies have shown that poor readers who are reading at a grade level or less are more likely to be disruptive in the classroom, truant from school, and at risk of dropping out of high school.
Helping a student become a reader is the single most important thing that can be done to help students succeed in school and in life.
The importance of reading cannot be overstated.
Reading helps students in all school subjects and is the key to lifelong learning.
We're serious about supporting our youth!
65-percent of parents of students in the urban metropolitan area of Kansas City, Missouri believe that their students would greatly benefit from additional tutoring assistance in the areas of communication arts.
In the same area, 69-percent of the parents that were surveyed believe additional academic enrichment programs and tutors could assist their students in becoming more engaged learners.
