St Mark Youth Enrichment

St. Mark Youth Enrichment's mission is to provide innovative programs and services that cultivate the educational and social-emotional growth of youth and families.

HISTORY:

 St. Mark Youth Enrichment, formerly St. Mark Community Center, was formed as a non-profit in 1988  when St. Mark Lutheran Church closed its doors; the congregation donated its facility and additional resources. Decades later, St. Mark Youth Enrichment now services 300 pre-K-5th grade students annually, both in Dubuque and Western Dubuque communities. 

At St. Mark Youth Enrichment, we believe every child deserves an opportunity to succeed. We are dedicated to our mission to provide innovative programs and services that cultivate youth and families' educational and social-emotional growth. The mission is achieved by creating safe, loving, and belonging environments within after-school and summer programs. Students gain social-emotional skills through modeling and implementation from trained and passionate staff, and students grow in academics through experiential learning and enrichment activities.   We collaborate with more than 50 community partners to bring fun enrichment activities that bring learning to life for students. With a philosophy of inclusion. safety, and trust, staff make connections with students that open the student's minds to new experiences and discover a love for learning. 

St. Mark has received more than 20 awards for service to the community. We were also named a "Business of Promise" in 2007 by Dubuque's Every Child | Every Promise initiative, a program adopted as a top priority by the City of Dubuque, and "Best Place to Work" in 2024! We only succeed with the community's help, and we are so grateful to all our friends and supporters! 

NEED FOR PROGRAMMING:

St. Mark's out-of-school time programming fills that gap for working families while cultivating critical skills for future success. One of our biggest challenges facing Dubuque is the disproportionate achievement rate of minority students and students in poverty. The Title 1 schools have an average achievement rate of 10% below the state average. Also, promoting social-emotional growth means students are more resilient to face future challenges. Studies find that supporting students' social-emotional development produces an 11% gain in grades and test scores. One mom shared in a survey, "My kids seem to be able to deal with peer issues a little better at the end of the year when compared to the beginning of the year. I am sure many conflicts arise when playing at the after-school program. I'm grateful staff help kids work through these issues."

Most students St. Mark serves are one to two years behind their academic and social development peers. Approximately 40% of our students have demonstrated low proficiency in reading and math basic skills test scores. The children we serve also face additional social challenges. They come from homes with twice the poverty rate as the rest of the Dubuque community elementary schools and experience twice the rate of single parenthood. They are predicted to be 50% of future high school dropouts and 50% of students referred to Juvenile Services.

WHERE WE ARE NOW:

St.Mark programs reach 300 pre-k-5 students annually. After-school and summer programs are offered throughout the year in Dubuque and Western Dubuque. The Dubuque programs primarily reach students from three of the Title 1 schools: Audubon, Lincoln, and Marshall Elementary, and summer programming is open to the whole community. In Western Dubuque, we work with Peosta Elementary students during the school year and students throughout the Western Dubuque community, primarily around the Dyersvill areas, for the summer program. In 2025, St. Mark will be working to enroll up to 36 children ages birth-4 St. Mark Early Childhood. 

St. Mark also works with nearly 250+ volunteers each year. St. Mark Youth Enrichment also leads various community initiatives, including the Apples for Students program, through which we provide school supplies to more than 3,600 students in grades K- and additional loose supplies to local middle and high schools. We continue to grow and evolve to meet the needs of the Dubuque community and its most important resource, children.

We only succeed with the community's help, and we are so grateful to all our friends and supporters!