Children's After School Achievement (CASA) - Meet Blake

Usually kids count the days until school gets out, but fourth-grader Blake practically drove his mom crazy this fall asking when he could do more school.

He couldn’t wait for the fall start up of Hope College’s Children After School Achievement (CASA), a program to promote educational achievement among underrepresented elementary school-age children.

“CASA has helped him come out of his shell and gives him something exciting to look forward to,” said Sara Deleon, Blake’s mom. Although he hates reading, Sara said Blake is happy to work on reading and other academic skills one-on-one with Hope CASA student tutors.

In its 36th year, the program works with local schools and families to identify each child’s learning challenges. Then, they provide the extra support and resources needed for them to succeed both during the school year and for six weeks in the summer.

“CASA needs to be funded because there wouldn’t be anyone else to take time to help these kids,” said Sara. “And it’s helping the college students, because they are learning to work with the kids.”

Today, with your gift to CASA, you can help students like Blake experience the joy of learning, even when there are challenges to overcome.