In 1999, the Upper Room opened its doors at St. Louis Church for a Summer Academic Camp. After raising $1 million, we were able to rebuild a room above the church that had burned down in the 1960’s (our namesake, the Upper Room). We furnished the room with books, computers, and activities for the children. The curriculum for this program had been suggested from a focus group of single mothers, who are the prime head of household in the neighborhoods we serve. They knew their children could not read, and set out to change that. The Upper Room had space for 90 students, but 250 students signed-up for the program the first year, so we knew there was a need. Each summer thereafter, the Upper Room added more churches to accommodate the surge in new students. In the summer of 2010, the Upper Room served over 2,500 students in the Summer Academic Camp. We continue to grow our program and stretch our reach across Kansas City’s entire urban core.
Our Mission is “Education for Life.” Keeping that in mind, we have expanded the Upper Room, now formerly, “Swope Corridor Renaissance/Upper Room” to become a haven for our families to improve education across the entire family unit. In addition, we have added a top ARTs program. Our major programs include:
- An After School Program for K-8th Graders, serving more than 1,000 students each year with a laser-beam focus on READING
- An eight week Summer Academic Camp for K-8th Graders, serving almost 3,000 students each summer with a laser-beam focus on READING
- An Even Start Daycare Program for children 6 weeks – 4 years old, recently expanded to hold 22 more infants
- A GED Program for mothers who want to complete their High School Equivalency, graduating 10 women in 2010