Since the early 1900s, Madison School & Community Recreation (MSCR) has provided afterschool activities for Madison children. MSCR serves more than 10,000 children in a variety of enriching afterschool programs at 15 elementary schools, two community centers, twelve middle school and four high schools.
Thanks to multiple 21st Century Community Learning Center grants, MSCR offers extensive enriching activities at Allis, Emerson, Falk, Glendale, Hawthorne, Lake View, Lincoln, Lindbergh, Mendota, Midvale, Nuestro Mundo, Orchard Ridge, Sandburg and Schenk Elementary schools.
MSCR Enrichment activities in elementary schools target children who are performing below proficient in math and literacy. During the 2018-2019 school year, of the children who regularly participated in MSCR Enrichment:
- 74% improved their participation or maintained class participation
- 75% improved their behavior or maintained positive behavior
- 53% of children in grades K-2 met or exceeded their PALS Literacy Growth Target
- 53% of children in grades 3-5 met or exceeded their MAP literacy growth target from fall 2018 to spring 2019
- 65% of children in grades 3-5 met or exceeded their MAP math growth target from fall 2018 to spring 2019
Also, according to teacher survey:
- 82% of regular attendees improved their math performance in one or more of the following ways: increased fact knowledge, increased accuracy when doing math computations, demonstrated a greater understanding of age appropriate math materials, more confidence when solving math story problems, attitude towards math improved, increased self-motivation to persist when solving math problems and measurably improved his/her performance in math.
- 83% of regular attendees improved their literacy performance in one or more of the following ways: better use of content clues and illustrations when reading, greater word recognition, improved fluency, more confidence when reading aloud, attitude towards reading improved, increased self-motivation to read, demonstrated a greater understanding of the material they were reading and measurably improved performance in reading.
In addition to academic support, MSCR provides many enriching clubs to expose children to arts, music, science and nature. MSCR works with more than 20 partners to help make this program successful. Partners include Disney Musicals in Schools/Overture Center for the Arts, Community Groundswork, DrumPower, Madison Public Library, Aldo Leopold Nature Center, University of Wisconsin (UW) – Madison Adult Role Models in Science (ARMS), UW – Madison Department of Computer Science, Girls Inc., Wisconsin Institute for Science and many more.
The department also receives positive feedback from parents and guardians, including:
“Juan has shown amazing growth in both math and literacy. It really helped having homework club to insure consequences if homework doesn’t get completed. He focused and put a lot of effort into his enrichment.”
“Darnell’s participation in MSCR offered him consistency in his weekly routine and support to help his confidence in behavior, which improved his academics in 2nd grade.”
MSCR’s mission is to offer affordable, accessible recreation programs for all ages. Look for enrichment opportunities at your child’s school this fall. Or, go to mscr.org for more information.
