FEATS is an after school tutoring program providing specialized instruction, healthy meals, and community engagement to students in Kindergarten through 5th grade.
The YWCA has hosted the FEATS program at Ross Elementary since 2018. The funding to provide this program comes from the United Way of Greater Topeka.
Students have direct instruction tutoring three days each week. This tutoring focuses on literacy and mathematics education. YWCA Northeast Kansas, in cooperation with Ross Elementary and the United Way of Greater Topeka, have set goals for the FEATS program to ensure its success:
- Reduce the number of chronic absences,
- Reduce behavioral referrals among participating students,
- Improve students' attitudes towards math and reading,
- Increase math and reading state assessment scores
- Increase the number of students performing at or above grade level in reading and math.
Additionally, two days each week, students participate in extra-curricular activities, field trips, community service work, and team building activities. In March 2016, YWCA partnered with Big Brothers Big Sisters to offer FEATS students the opportunity to participate in a corporate Bigs program with Advisors Excel.