Davenport Neighborhood Schools Program - CBS4 - WHBF Quad Cities, IL-IA News Weather Sports

Davenport Neighborhood Schools Program

By: Meredith Dennis

mdennis@cbs4qc.com

Some say it takes a village to raise a child. But in Davenport, one neighborhood is getting the job done, in our weekly "Eye on Education Report."

"Several years ago the St. Paul Lutheran Church in Davenport, contacted the Davenport schools because they wanted to have an impact on the neighborhood. Since then they have adopted JB Young and Madison Elementary.. and the neighborhood schools program has taken off. This is a dream job. It's very rewarding," said Margaret Haas, Neighborhood Schools Program Coordinator.

Haas heads up the Neighborhood Schools Program at St. Paul Lutheran Church. It's a program which takes church members and drops them into neighboring JB Young and Madison Schools to help in any way possible.

"It's very fluid. It just depends on what the needs are," said Haas.

The St. Paul volunteers do everything from tutor and mentor students, to landscaping and even building a butterfly garden at Madison, "It's an outdoor classroom for our students. It's something the church funded and every year they maintain it and keep it up," said Sarah Gott, Madison Principal.

Principal Gott says the help is invaluable, "They're a part of the school. The parents know them, the students love them and we don't know what we'd do without them."

Both the church and the schools hope to continue to grow the program for years to come, And continue to work to make a stronger neighborhood and community.