The Role of National Service in Improving Elementary and Secondary Education Outcomes in Low-Income Schools, was released on October 2, 2017 at a Capitol Hill Briefing hosted by Service Year Alliance, Voices for National Service, and America’s Promise Alliance.  The report, written by Service Year Alliance, takes a unique look at how national service members provide an under-recognized and cost-effective source of human capital to improve student outcomes in low-income schools.  The report explores seven roles that national service programs, particularly AmeriCorps, play in supporting student success to help education stakeholders and policymakers better understand how national service is critical to important education reform efforts and reducing educational disparities.

On October 3rd, Meghan and four other AmeriCorps alums advocated for national service on Capitol Hill with Service Year Alliance. They met with congressional staffers with two goals in mind: to share our service stories -- particularly as they related to disaster relief efforts -- and ask members of Congress to make the AmeriCorps education award tax-free. Read what she had to say about her experience! 

The second installment of the Service Year + Higher Ed newsletter includes a budget update from Capitol Hill, info on upcoming webinars, a blog post from the Lumina Foundation, and an op-ed from three higher education leaders. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Service Year Alliance released the following statement today in response to the markup of the FY18 budget by the Senate Labor-Health and Human Services and State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations subcommittees:

“We are relieved to see the Senate reject President Trump’s FY18 budget proposal and provide level funding for national service programs like AmeriCorps, the Peace Corps, and YouthBuild,” said Shirley Sagawa, CEO of Service Year Alliance. “Thanks to the bipartisan support from members of Congress, the 80,000 young people who are in Texas responding to Hurricane Harvey, in West Virginia battling the opioid crisis, in Montana and California fighting wildfires, and all across the country will be able to continue serving these communities in need. This is a critical step towards our goal of universal national service.”

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This morning, an unprecedented number of dinosaurs took to the streets of Washington, DC to tell Congress to stop national service extinction. The hundreds of dinosaurs and national service advocates were present at 8 locations across the city. This included Dupont Circle, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, and Union Station. The morning ended with a record number of dinosaurs rallying at the US Capitol. The campaign was in response to President Trump's 2018 budget proposal which threatens to eliminate national service programs like AmeriCorps and outlines the largest cut to the Peace Corps by a president in 40 years.

So you’re wondering what’s up with all of the dinosaurs you keep seeing around DC today? They were at your metro stop and you saw a video of them outside the Capitol, but you have no idea why? Here’s what’s going on...

A record number of dinosaurs and national service advocates are taking action across Washington, DC today to stop national service extinction.