Summer Is For Learning

This isn’t your mother’s summer break. 

In addition to hanging out with their friends at the pool, students are also crowding libraries for summer reading programs, earning a salary and workforce certifications in intensive summer camps, and learning how to code. 

Providing these kinds of programs and opportunities for all students is critical: studies show that students from low-income families lose math and reading skills over the summer at higher rates than their wealthier classmates whose parents can pay for camps and other programming, according to the Wallace Foundation.

To help shine a light on what’s working, Wallace just released a list of 43 summer learning programs across the U.S. that are seeing strong results with students.

Contact us if want to know more about creating evidence-based summer learning experiences in your district.

Here is a look at summer programs in a few of the places where FourPoint works:

Baltimore, Maryland
In its fifth year, SummerREADS in Baltimore is a free literacy initiative with programs and workshops – as well as meals – in schools and libraries across the city throughout the summer. Students learn to write hip-hop songs, draw live animals at the zoo and become inventors in a makerspace.

Grand Island, Nebraska
Grand Island Public Schools is offering a new program, JumpStart6, to help smooth the transition to middle school for rising sixth-graders. The program hosted at three middle schools this summer includes scavenger hunts so that students can get acclimated to the building, meetings with teachers and other enrichment activities.

Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford Public Schools created Summer Bridge for rising ninth-graders to help them adjust to high school before classes begin in the fall. The program aims to reduce chronic absenteeism among the city’s ninth-graders. Students can make up to $400 for attending the program, which will help with students who depend on the income of summer jobs. 

Omaha, Nebraska
In Omaha, youth ages 14-21 can get job training, academic help, internship experience and earn up to $1,800 during the summer through STEP-UP Omaha!, which is run by the Empowerment Network, the city and a host of community partners.

If you want to learn more about creating evidence-based summer learning experiences in your district, contact FourPoint.