City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Program

About the Program

The City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Program leverages Dubuque community members to build capacity with local non-profits, government departments and school districts to solve some of Dubuque’s most pressing needs. The program’s current priority is supporting youth in their academic, career, and personal success through Social-Emotional Learning.

With a primary focus on fostering essential skills, AmeriCorps members will spearhead programs that target self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, goal-directed behavior, relationship skills, personal responsibility, decision-making, and optimistic thinking. By prioritizing these critical attributes, the City of Dubuque AmeriCorps members aim to equip local youth with the necessary tools to navigate challenges, enhance well-being, and succeed academically and beyond.

Where We Serve

AmeriCorps members are stationed within local organizations, including the Dubuque Community School District, Carnegie-Stout Public Library, Multicultural Family Center, and Parks and Recreation, ensuring a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach to supporting youth development. Brief descriptions of what the members will do at each organization are:

Carnegie-Stout Public Library: 1 Full-Time Position and 1 Summer Part-Time Position

The Early Literacy Specialist will provide outreach and literacy resources to Pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade students. This role will be responsible for program development, implementation and evaluation, and outreach to the community youth populations.

Dubuque Community School District: 16 Part-Time Positions

The Social-Emotional Learning Intervention Specialist (15 hours/week) will be responsible for implementing evidence-based interventions, building positive connections with youth, and collaborating to promote social-emotional well-being.
The Social-Emotional Learning Intervention Coordinator (25 hours/week) will be responsible for implementing and promoting social-emotional learning initiatives to enhance the overall well-being and academic success of students.

Multicultural Family Center: 3 Full-Time Positions & 10 Part-Time Summer Positions

The Academic Advocate aims to provide comprehensive support to students and families, helping them navigate the education system and stay on track towards their post-high school goals. The Academic Advocate will develop and lead the Future-Ready programming for high school students at the Multicultural Family Center, while also engaging junior high students in similar activities. This position focuses on building relationships with disadvantaged youth and their families, connecting their talents and interests to potential careers, and creating sustainable support systems within the community.
The Teen Engagement Specialist's goal is to provide Dubuque's teenage youth with community connections, healthy opportunities, and engaging activities year-round, focusing on supporting students and families, helping them navigate their out-of-school time in meaningful ways. This vital role involves developing programs, implementing them, evaluating their impact, and reaching out to diverse youth populations. This position will lead Teen Night programming for high school students, engage middle school students, build relationships with disadvantaged youth and their families, connect talents and interests to potential careers, and create sustainable support systems within the community.
The Teen Creativity Specialist's goal is to provide Dubuque's teenage youth with community connections, healthy opportunities, and engaging activities focused on Arts & Culture, year-round. This vital role focuses on supporting teens find their unique, creative expression, helping them navigate their personal development in meaningful ways. This position will support the development and implementation of programming for high school students, engage junior high students, build relationships with disadvantaged youth and their families, connect talents and interests to potential careers, and create sustainable support systems within the community.
The Summer Teen Empowerment Specialists are a team of AmeriCorps Members that serve in two teams at the Multicultural Family Center, in the Summer Teen Empowerment Program (STEP) and the Summer Teen Empowerment Nights (STEN). These members serve alongside MFC Staff to provide community engagement and skill-building programming.

Serving Dubuque Since 2000

The City of Dubuque has proudly sponsored the AmeriCorps Program since 2007, underscoring its ongoing commitment to the betterment of its community and the welfare of its residents. By investing in social and emotional learning interventions, the City demonstrates its dedication to equipping the next generation with the skills and mindset needed to thrive in an ever-changing world.

The City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Program has been in the Dubuque community since 2000 and has over 1,000 alumni. Together, we have provided well over 500,000 hours of service to children across our community. We have seen the cycle complete itself with some students supported in our early years who have become AmeriCorps members.

City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Program

Creating Opportunities