GOSHEN -- Some kids in Elkhart County Boys & Girls Clubs participate in a homework club that is showing average improvements in reading and math of up to 79 percent.

Clubs in Middlebury, Goshen and Nappanee all participate in the statewide initiative Mitch's Kids -- named after Gov. Mitch Daniels -- which is in its fifth year. All three clubs are part of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Goshen, which also coordinates Mitch's Kids programs at Bristol and Osolo elementary schools.

Students who sign up for the program take an assessment test at the start of the program and then receive homework help every day they attend. Boys & Girls Club workers will help them with their homework from school and sometimes give additional assignments. The club then tests the children at the end of the program, which can be completed at the child's pace in anywhere between nine weeks and a school year at Greater Goshen clubs.

Goshen's club has seen an average improvement of 31 percent in reading scores and 51 percent in math scores on the Woodcock-Johnson Test of Achievement. Middlebury students post an average improvement of 31 percent in reading and 37 percent in math. Nappanee's club has showed the biggest improvements, averaging 62 percent in reading and 79 percent in math.

"We're very proud of our results," said Kevin Deary, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Goshen. "We've had some really good results. This translates to higher ISTEP grades and higher letter grades at school."

Statewide, the program has seen an average increase of 65 percent in reading and 64.5 percent in math, according to a press release.

Before starting the program, 33 percent of the students read above grade level and 31 percent performed above grade level in math, according to the release. After completing the program, 62 percent read above grade level, and 63 percent performed above grade level in math.

Students must show a 10 percent increase (for grades one and two) and a 15 percent increase (for grades three through eight) to "graduate" from the program, said Lana Taylor, state alliance director for the Indiana Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs. Students who don't make that improvement have the option of doing additional homework sessions and then retesting.

Taylor said she thinks the reason the program has showed such high increases is that kids are spending extra time learning every day (or as often as they come) out of school.

"I think the other thing that really helps is that they're getting more one-on-one time with an adult, even if it's just 10 minutes," Taylor said.

Taylor pointed out that the tests are only a few minutes long, so it's not a full battery test, like ISTEP.

The Mitch's Kids program only funds children on free and reduced lunch or whose families use a Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program such as food stamps. However, Deary said Goshen clubs have always had homework clubs called Power Hour, which is open to all students.

Teresa Watson, grant coordinator for the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Goshen, said the Mitch's Kids program allows the club to give the assessment test at the beginning and is more focused on math and reading than Power Hour.

The program also involves a career session, where kids hear from 10 different professionals throughout the year who talk about their careers and how their education helped them get to where they are.

This past school year, 27 kids completed the program in Nappanee, 47 completed the program in Goshen and 29 graduated from the Middlebury program, Watson said.

AVERAGE IMPROVEMENTS ON THE WOODCOCK-JOHNSON TEST OF ACHIEVEMENT

* GOSHEN: 31 percent in reading; 51 percent in math

* MIDDLEBURY: 31 percent in reading; 37 percent in math

* NAPPANEE: 62 percent in reading; 79 percent in math

* STATE: 65 percent in reading; 64.5 percent in math

Source: Lana Taylor, state alliance director for the Indiana Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs