BALTIMORE, June 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The end of the
school year marks the start of the "summer slide" in math and
reading skills for millions of students across the country.
That's why 'no more teachers, no more books,' shouldn't mean
that learning should stop once the final bell rings!
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So hundreds of communities across the nation – from Seattle, Washington to Austin, Texas and Baltimore, Maryland – are joining together
with the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) for National
Summer Learning Day on July 14th – a
national advocacy day to elevate the importance of summer learning
as a solution to closing the achievement and opportunity gaps in
this country.
"We want this to be the
best summer ever for all students, full of enrichment opportunities
that keep our young people safe, healthy, and learning," said U.S.
Education Secretary John. B. King Jr. "Together, we can close the
gaps that persist for far too many students and support
opportunities for all children to succeed in and out of
school."
The theme of National Summer Learning Day 2016 is "Smarter
Summers, Brighter Futures" and the NSLA and its partnering
organizations, from libraries to parks and recreation centers,
civic, and non-profit groups, as well as the White House, are
looking to realize hundreds of learning events to serve a goal of
one million youth. Among the events, spread out over the next month
leading up to and through National Summer Learning Day that can be
found on NSLD's interactive map, will be:
- Austin, TX, July 7 & 14 : STEM Summer Learning Day at the
Texas Capitol and Keep Austin Playing at Palmer Events Center
(City of Austin)
- New York, NY, July 14: Summer Learning Day at Harlem RBI
- Bronx, NY, July 14: Summer Learning, United Way Day of
Action at Mott Haven Public Library
- Boston, Massachusetts,
July 14: Summer Learning Day Block
Party, Office of Mayor Marty
Walsh
- Chicago, IL, July 14: National Summer Learning Day; Rahm's
Readers Summer Learning Challenge – Sherman
Park
- Dallas, TX, July 14: Dallas
Police and Youth Forum: "Let's Talk"
- Houston, TX, July 14: Every Superhero has a Story – Summer
Learning Day at Youth Education Town II YET Center
- Seattle, WA, July 14: National Summer Learning Day Celebration
with Mayor Ed Murray
- Baltimore, MD, July 20 & 26: Youth BMore Summer Block Party
Tour, Office of Mayor Stephanie
Rawlings-Blake
In conjunction with National Summer Learning Day, NSLA has also
set a goal to expand summer learning, meals and job opportunities
for millions of students who qualify for free and reduced-price
meals by 2020. Resources being employed to reach this goal
include:
- NSLA's new website www.summeropportunity.org with user-friendly
resources for families, summer programs providers, and municipal
leaders.
- An inaugural media partnership with Clear Channel Outdoor
Americas and iHeart Radio on a summer learning multi-media
campaign.
- The publication of Summers Matter by NSLA Founder and
Chairman Matthew Boulay, PhD.
The book offers a how-to for parents, teachers, administrators and
others on how to incorporate summer opportunities in their schools
and communities.
- In partnership with the White House and U.S. Department
of Education, NSLA developed a Funding Resource Guideto help
state and local leaders identify the most promising funding streams
to support summer learning and to show how innovative states,
districts and communities have creatively blended public and
private funding to meet the needs of young people during the
critical summer months.
Summer learning loss is a significant contributor to the
achievement gap, as research has shown every summer, low-income
youth lose two to three months in reading achievement, while their
higher-income peers make slight gains. Most youth also lose about
two months of grade-level equivalency in math skills in the summer.
Year after year, these losses accumulate so that by fifth grade,
the cumulative years of summer learning loss can leave low-income
students almost three years behind their peers.
This loss is not just in human capital. There is a
significant financial loss as well. Consider that public school
funding in the 2014–2015 school year totaled roughly $600 billion for 50 million students nationally,
or roughly $12,000 per student, per
school year. If the average student loses during the summer 10–20
percent of what they learned during the school year, that is
$60-$120 billion dollars lost every
year.
"Research shows that summers without quality learning
opportunities put our nation's youth at risk for falling behind,
year after year," said Sarah
Pitcock, NSLA CEO. "There is an unmet demand for summer
programs and opportunities to address the challenges of low-income
and working families."
In February, the White House announced the Summer Opportunity
Project – a multi-agency effort in partnership with NSLA and other
national partners designed to give young people access to the first
job and encourage investment in programs supporting summer meals
and learning. Under President Obama's leadership and the
coordinated efforts of federal agencies, opportunities for more
enriching summers have grown significantly.
The President has committed nearly $6
billion in new funding in the 2017 budget for work
experience programs for young people, the Department of Labor's
Summer Jobs and Beyond granted
$20 million to various communities
that provide young people with job opportunities.
Additionally, the Administration for Children and Families
(ACF), Office of Child Care (OCC) launched the new National Center
on Afterschool and Summer Enrichment (NCASE) in October 2015. The goal of NCASE is to ensure that
school-age children in families of low-income have increased access
to high-quality afterschool and summer learning experiences that
contribute to their overall development and academic
achievement.
About National Summer Learning
The National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) is the only
national nonprofit exclusively focused on closing the achievement
gap by increasing access to high-quality summer learning
opportunities. NSLA recognizes and disseminates what works in
summer learning, develops and delivers capacity-building offerings
and convenes and empowers key actors to embrace summer learning as
a solution for equity and excellence in education. For more
information, visit www.summerlearning.org
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SOURCE National Summer Learning Day