It all adds up. The years. The effort. The support. The impact.

It’s the totality of the journey that gives each year its meaning, and it’s hard to differentiate each year’s accomplishments from the cumulative effect of decades. Every year involves recollections of celebrations, achievements, experiments, challenges and triumphs. Since Kids Unlimited’s inception almost 27 years ago, the memories and collective impacts are myriad strands in a lifeline for youth and their families. 

Kids Unlimited’s trajectory has only been accelerating since we founded our first afterschool program in 1998. And changes continue at a more rapid pace than ever before with shifts more profound than we’ve ever encountered as an organization.   

Within the past five years alone, society’s and technology’s impacts on how children are growing up, how they’re learning, how they’re developing relationships are conspiring toward so many unknowns in the landscape of education and youth development.

How do we create relationships with children and parents that are meaningful and authentic? How do we approach these relationships with intentions for it lasting a lifetime?

The longevity of doing this work for 27 years doesn’t make KU’s day-to-day tasks any easier. If anything, the clarity that comes with KU’s history reveals how our work is only becoming more challenging.

We have to adjust operations more often and more rapidly to keep pace with the latest societal and cultural forces. We have to raise our voices above digital media’s distractions, engage kids’ attention, respond to their needs and always adapt.

Looking back on KU’s innovations in education and youth development, it’s clear that our strength is sparking kids’ interests to create communities of inclusion. KU has always been a place of belonging to something bigger than ourselves.

That’s why we need YOU and your support as we rededicate our mission to opportunities that empower kids to become leaders, to achieve social and economic equity, to better themselves while bettering their communities. This is how we grow the Unlimited.

KU laid the foundation in 2024 for the next generation of its youth development and engagement projects that will promote entrepreneurism and give kids vital workforce and life skills. Food for Thoughtfulness and Pastabilities Unlimited both build on KU’s experience in job training, including our VIBES event promotions and EmpowerPrint custom screen-printing shop.

Efforts to engage entire households also grew in 2024, demonstrating the success of programs and systems developed in recent years. Under our parent-student contract, family volunteer and engagement hours increased by 137% in the first five months of the 2024-25 school year compared with 2023-24. The total number of families participating increased by an average of 88.75% during the same time.   

These outcomes confirm KU’s conviction that we can — and we will — integrate kids and families as shared participants in our mission. They reaffirm our belief in the Unlimited.

Thank you for always believing in them, and in us.

Tom Cole
President & CEO

As we continue to grow, so has our KU Academy education models.  With campuses in Medford and White City, our public charter schools have provided over 500 students with a robust model for learning.  At KUA we provide not only a standard based education with ongoing teacher and aide training, but we also provide a 10 hour day of learning beginning at 7:30 a.m. and running until 5:30 p.m.  A high quality breakfast, lunch, and dinner is also cooked from scratch daily.  Students benefit from our year round school model, extended school day, and free after school enrichment.  As our mission statement promises, we are dedicated to ensuring our children are provided more instructional time, enriching programs, and a high expectations, no excuse environment to ensure that high school graduation, college success, and career readiness are reasonable goals for all students regardless of race, gender, economic status, or zip code.

2021 brought many new and unique challenges!  KUA started 2021 where 2020 left off with just over 300 students attending from PreK-8th grade benefiting from emergency childcare.  Students who would otherwise struggle at home with virtual learning benefited from the help of instructional assistants to complete their online work.  They also enjoyed in person benefits of healthy meals, PE, peer interaction, mental health supports, and access to limited in person instruction from teachers.  In late February 2021, we began the transition to return to campus classes for in person learning.   

After returning to in person learning we immediately recognized the significant gap in not only academic performances but also the socio-emotional challenges that were compounded by nearly a year of isolation.  Our board, staff, and families unanimously agreed to respond in the most responsible means we could and that was the adoption of an all year school model.

In August, we launched our first year long school calendar which added nearly three additional weeks of instructional time for students – based on feedback from our families and staff.  This extra learning time is essential to bridging the unfinished learning gaps and is combined with our VIBES behavior team which provides early and sustained interventions for supporting behavior and socio emotional needs of our students.

In December, our full time Garden Educator and Coordinator began working at KU.  This role will support classrooms with garden/nutrition instruction during the school day and during our camps.  The Garden Educator will work with PreK-8th grade students in Medford and White City.

We all know, time matters.  We also know that building a solid foundation to learning is critical to future successes.  In 2021, PreK Kids Unlimited was able to open our first full year of operations.  With pre-schools at both our KU Academies in Medford and White city, our early learning program is designed to meet the need of some of our community’s most vulnerable learners.  In 2021, Pre-K Unlimited served 91 early learners.  Our pre-school programs are designed to be culturally competent and dedicated to a diverse and enriching learning environment removing cultural and economic barriers that often prevent access.  Our pre-school programs are also connected to our holistic system of  family wrap around resources and services dedicated to the engagement of the entire family including siblings who are also enrolled in our KU Academy public charter schools.  Pre-K Unlimited offers a wide array of activities dedicated to exposing our three and four year old students to education, motor skill development, art, music, healthy nutrition, and a variety of stimulating play activities.

This year Pre-K Unlimited also celebrated its first ever award as “Southern Oregon’s Best of the Best Preschool and Childcare” by the Mail Tribune of Southern Oregon.

Since our beginning, Kids Unlimited has always provided youth in our program with warm clothing and school uniforms. While the numbers of children and familes we are serving continue to rise, so does the need for clothing. We believed we could be more impactful if we were able to do our own printing.  This year one of our most successful programs has been the launching of Empowerprint Unlimited grown from our commitment to ensuring clothing is not a barrier for our students.  Since opening in 2021, Empowerprint Unlimited has printed and distributed over 25,000 garments to those in need while teaching and providing work experiences for our middle and high school students. Empowerprint not only increases our capacity but it also provides an entrepreneurial endeavor for our kids to learn design and gain employment skills while learning to run their own business.

Watching kids return to the gyms and fields was one of the highlights of 2021. After months of isolation, resuming fitness and play was imperative. We celebrated championships, scholarships and the expansion of sports.  In 2021 KU Academy began our first ever volleyball program and boys basketball program.

Research suggests that sadly, 77% of kids who live in households impacted by severe poverty do not play sports.  With over 80% of our children representing families living below the poverty line, we are committed to ensuring that all kids can access sports. This year Kids Unlimited’s sports programs made a historical impact.

Kids Unlimited helped celebrate the success of the South Medford Lady Panther girls basketball team’s undefeated state championship season.  In one of the most bizarre years in sports, girls who grew up playing for well over 10 years at Kids Unlimited watched their dreams come true.  In addition to an undefeated championship season, six of our young ladies earned basketball scholarships.  Over the years, Kids Unlimited’s Olsrud court has been a place kids can play, train, and compete. This year recognized the 26th female student athlete to receive a college basketball scholarship.