The Center
for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins has announced the
launch of a national fund-raising and education campaign to
generate $50 million in public investment for summer
learning programs.
A grant from the Atlantic Philanthropies will fund the
center's initial outreach efforts, which will include
advancing summer learning as a key policy priority across
the nation. The campaign will further the center's mission
to fundamentally transform awareness of and access to
summer learning programs for disadvantaged youth in the
United States.
Research consistently shows that all young people
— and particularly those from low-income families
— face significant risk of losing ground academically
over the summer months, said Ron Fairchild, executive
director of the Center for Summer Learning, a part of the
university's School of Education. The center's new campaign
is intended to improve access to high-quality summer
learning opportunities for young people in impoverished
communities by increasing and best leveraging public
funding for youth programs.
In addition to encouraging comprehensive funding for
high-quality summer learning programs, the center will work
closely with school districts to strengthen policies and
practices related to summer learning programs, provide
training and management assistance to organizations
operating summer programs and engage a growing national
network of exemplary summer program providers in an effort
to build public support for quality programs.
"High-quality, enriching summer experiences are
something many families are able to take for granted,"
Fairchild said. "We are launching this national campaign to
ensure that every child who needs high-quality summer
learning will receive it and benefit from it, regardless of
his or her socioeconomic status.
"We will work to get the STEP UP Act in the United
States Senate and similar pieces of legislation approved to
guarantee the funding of these programs, which serve as the
foundation for the future success of our most vulnerable
yet promising young people," said Fairchild, who will
manage the campaign.
The three-year $2.5 million grant from the Atlantic
Philanthropies will allow the campaign to begin
immediately, Fairchild said. The center plans to raise
another $7.5 million to bolster its efforts.
Founded in 1992, the Center for Summer Learning has a
proven track record of developing, evaluating and promoting
programs that improve student achievement and youth
development. Over the past 15 years, the center has grown
from operating a local program serving 50 children to
become the only national organization focused exclusively
on summer learning.
Last year, the center helped generate more than $12
million of public investment in programs that reached more
than 25,000 children and youth in three states. In
addition, the center provided training to more than 1,000
summer program providers in 20 states that collectively
serve over 1 million youth.
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