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The value of one-on-one mentors in schools was the subject of a panel discussion featuring, l. to r., Kim Glodek of EducationWorks, Jessica Graham of Citizen Schools, Ayanna Rutherford of Sports4Kids, Shirley Sagawa of Center for American Progress, Stephanie Wu of City Year and John Gomperts of Experience Corps and Civic Ventures.

The Washington, D.C., think tank Center for American Progress is calling for the expansion of Experience Corps and other national service programs that help struggling students and schools.

The preliminary results of CAP's study indicate that groups receiving federal AmeriCorps funding make "a significant difference building a positive environment for learning, help students achieve," and represent "a cost effective way to improve the quality of education and supplement overworked teachers."

But "none operate on a large enough scale to really boost school success for the millions of students who could benefit from more attention than a classroom teacher can provide," the report says.

AmeriCorps, a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, provides modest stipends to about 75,000 people each year, through partnerships with local and national nonprofit groups. Experience Corps is one of the largest AmeriCorps partners engaging older adults, with about 600 of its 2,000 members receiving modest AmeriCorps stipends.

A number of organizations are civic leaders are calling for a major expansion of national service programs, and both Democratic presidential candidates are supporting such proposals.

"So many Experience Corps members become highly skilled tutors and want to stay on for years," said John Gomperts, CEO of Experience Corps and president of Civic Ventures. "But current term limits – now set at two years – restrict how long they can receive AmeriCorps stipends. If older AmeriCorps members could serve longer terms, we'd see more Experience Corps members in the classroom."

Experience Corps is a project of Civic Ventures, also the publisher of Encore.org, which seeks to focus the experience and talents of older adults on society’s greatest challenges.

CAP's report calls for the expansion of Experience Corps and other programs that work in schools "to make this resource available to principals of struggling schools looking for extra help."

Gomperts and other experts on national service spoke at a forum sponsored by CAP, a href="http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/02/americorps_role.html " target="_blank">"The AmeriCorps Role in Education Reform." Other speakers represented the Hudson Institute, Johns Hopkins University, City Year, Communities in Schools, EducationWorks, Citizen Schools and Be the Change, Inc.

"These programs are playing important, largely unsung roles that support efforts of principals and teachers in providing a positive environment for learning," wrote Shirley Sagawa, the report's primary author. She called for Congress to specifically target schools in considering the reauthorization of the National and Community Services Act.