Four Mounds HEART Program PublicationCopyrighted
January 18, 2022
City of Dubuque Consent Items # 13.
City Council Meeting
ITEM TITLE: Four Mounds HEART Program Publication
SUMMARY: City Manager providing a copy of Four Mounds' HEART Program
publication.
SUGGESTED Suggested Disposition: Receive and File
DISPOSITION:
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Type
Four Mounds/Heart Brochure Supporting Documentation
Message from our Executive Director
At Four Mounds, we believe that through restoring place, we can restore people.
For 34 years, our team has worked with youth and adults at -risk on restoration
and community service projects at our historic site and in Dubuque's urban core.
We strive to serve community members who face barriers to success related to
poverty, education, and incarceration.
Jill Courtney Our mission, to preserve, educate, and serve, comes alive through our innovative
Executive Director, partnerships and programs at our site and in the community. We PRESERVE the
Four Mounds natural, architectural, and historical resources of the Four Mounds estate,
Foundation EDUCATE with hands-on opportunities for youth and unemployed, underserved
community members; and SERVE through Leadership, stewardship, and innovative
partnerships.
Every year since the organization was formed in 1987, we continue to grow our reach
in the community and enhance the Four Mounds site.
4900 Peru Rd, Dubuque IA, 52001 1 563.557.7292 1 www.fourmounds.org
New HEART Cabinetry Pathway in 202
In partnership with Northeast Iowa
Community CoLLege, we recently added a
cabinetry certificate pathway that takes place
on the Four Mounds site. This course equips
the construction technology student with the
basic skills and knowledge to construct and
finish kitchen cabinets and basic skills for
furniture casework.
Through a combination of coursework and
hands-on instruction, students Learn about
shop safety, power tools used in cabinet
making, methods of sketch and design for
cabinet making, wood basics, joinery and using
a CNC in cabinet making. There is also an
emphasis on soft skills and problem -solving
related to becoming a productive employee
through hands-on paid training. We offer a
small student -to -teacher ratio, so students
always get the support they need. They leave
with a broader understanding of the finishing
aspects within the construction trades, an
increased skill set, and more confidence in
their abilities.
HEART Youth
Students in the Housing Education and Rehabilitation
Training Program (HEART) split their day working in the
classroom and on a house site, gaining critical skills in
carpentry and restoration. Upon graduation, they receive
their high school diplomas, as well as credit articulation
through NICC. They also receive financial Literacy mentoring,
a stipend and savings, soft skills, and connections to post -
graduation opportunities.
The program works: HEART has a 91 % graduation rate while
the national average for youth at risk with behavioral, social,
or academic disabilities hovers around 65%.*
Research indicates that 75%** of high school dropouts did
not participate in an alternative program. HEART is an
alternative program which has proven that meaningful,
hands-on opportunities are essential for keeping at risk
youth in school.
* National Center for Education Statistics, 201 8, Trends in High School
Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 2018.
**Late High School Dropouts: Characteristics, Experiences, 2009,
Retrieved July 29, 2020, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs 2009/2009307.pdf.
HEART Build Dubuque
Since we replicated our HEART Youth model to serve adults
disconnected from the world of work in 2019, the HEART Build
Dubuque program has grown tremendously. We have served over 60
students in the three pathways: Construction, Cabinetry, and
Transitional Employment. Each pathway offers a small student to
teacher ratio, paid hands-on training in authentic Learning environments,
and connections to employment.
We are seeing results! Currently, the graduation rate is 93% in the
Construction and Cabinetry pathways. Also, more than 50% of students
reporting are doubling their income upon employment after completing
the program, and others are increasing income by $10,000 or more.
Who we serve:
* 25% female
* 75% male
* 35% African American
* 62% White
* 3% Other
Data as of I 1 / 1 /202 1.
Breakdown by age:
* 3% under 18
* 57% 18-24
*31%25-34
* 9% 35-49
HEART Projects
Completed:
Adventure Day Camp
Adventure Day Campers spend a week immersed in nature at
Four Mounds and in the surrounding community. This is a
once in a childhood experience for many of them and one
they remember for the rest of their lives. Campers learn
about native plants, gardening, and the prairie through
hands-on activities. They spend time at Swiss Valley Nature
and Mines of Spain hiking, creek stomping, swimming, crawdad
hunting, canoeing, learning about pioneers and how to read a
compass, while understanding the delicate balance of the
ecosystems that surround us.
Campers begin and end each day with team building and
reflection activities that help them understand the
importance of teamwork, kindness, and their role in the world
they live in. They end the week with ropes course activities at
Four Mounds. For many of our campers most of what takes
place during this week are firsts for them and bring awareness
of the life and beauty around them.
In Progress:
2247 Central Avenue: complete gut rehabilitation 821 Garfield Avenue: complete gut rehabilitation
project. Completed December 2021 by youth. project. Work started November 2021 byyouth.
351 East 15th Street: partial gut rehabilitation
project. Completed December 2021 by adults.
Francis Street Project: short-term renovation
project. Work completed in 2020 by adults.
2607 Washington Avenue: construction on the
garage adjacent to the house. Work began in
November 2021 by adults.
Steeple Square Projects: short-term
construction projects. Work began by adults in
December 202 1.