Partnering to Close the Achievement Gap Through Summer Learning
Jun 13, 2019
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Summer enrichment programs like Danbury’s Families Combatting Summer Learning Loss, an initiative of the Danbury Family Learning Center that is funded in part through FCCF, offer summer students the best of both worlds: the academic enrichment they need to prevent summer slide, and the benefit of a traditional camp experience.
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In the morning, students participating in Danbury Family Learning Center’s summer enrichment programs engage in grade-level reading activities and academic tutoring. After lunch, they can choose to participate in a range of activities including the arts; music / drumming; cooking; outdoor exploration; and work on long-term projects.
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Danbury Family Learning Center summer camp activities increase vocabulary, cognition, and the development of executive functioning skills. This program has been particularly helpful to students who speak English as a second language, because they can continue building their English proficiency without fear of losing ground.
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The Sterling House Summer Day Camp, another FCCF summer learning grantee, is dedicated to providing a safe environment for campers in Bridgeport and Stratford to have fun, make new friends, and explore the world around them.
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Sterling House trains young people ages 13 and up to be junior counselors and counselors-in-training for its Summer Day Camp program. As it can be difficult for young people to gain work experience in their early years, this often serve as a young person’s first job, offering an opportunity to learn valuable skills and earn a stipend.
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Through its Family Economic Security Program (FESP), FCCF’s Fund for Women & Girls also awards summer camp scholarships to the children of parents enrolled through FESP in summer classes at Housatonic Community College. This wraparound support offers multi-generational learning that builds a strong foundation for future success for both parents and children. (Photo courtesy of Sterling House.)
For more than a decade, your continued support has helped Fairfield County’s Community Foundation partner with grantees to bring summer learning opportunities to youth who are disadvantaged, keeping them on track for equal growth, achievement and opportunity.
National studies show “summer slide” disproportionately impacts low-income students. By fifth grade, summer learning loss is likely to put low-income students nearly three years behind their peers. By high school, it accounts for about 2/3 of the difference in the likelihood of students pursuing a college preparatory program. With your help, however, 24 nonprofits that received FCCF Education & Youth Development grants in Fall 2018 are now making inroads on these statistics.
Our Fall 2018 Education & Youth Development Grantees bring high-quality summer enrichment programs to communities across Fairfield County:
- ACCESS Educational Service, Inc. (Bridgeport)
Summer STEM Enrichment - Building One Community (Stamford)
Summer Reading Program - Carver Foundation of Norwalk (Norwalk)
Summer High School Transition Program - City of Stamford -Youth Services Bureau (Stamford)
Mayor’s Youth Employment Program - CT Beardsley Zoo (Bridgeport)
Conservation Discovery Corps - Danbury Family Learning Center (Danbury)
Danbury’s Families Combatting Summer Learning Loss #2 - Danbury Youth Services (Danbury)
DYS Summer Youth Employment Program - Green Village Initiative (Bridgeport)
Cultivating Youth as Leaders of Food Justice - Horizons at Brunswick School (Greenwich)
Horizons at Brunswick School Student - Horizons Greens Farms Academy (Bridgeport)
Horizons Summer 2019 - Horizons National (Bridgeport)
Horizons Bridgeport - Horizons New Canaan (Fairfield County)
Horizons at New Canaan Country School - Horizons at Norwalk Community College (Norwalk)
Horizons at NCC - Horizons Sacred Heart University (SHU)(Bridgeport)
Summer Learning Program - INROADS (Fairfield County)
Leadership Development Academy - LifeBridge Community Services (Bridgeport)
Pathways to TechConnections - McGivney Community Center (Bridgeport)
McGivney Summer Camp - Mill River Park Collaborative (Stamford)
Mill River Stewards High School Internship Program - Norwalk Community College Foundation (Norwalk)
Summer Bridge Math Intensive Program - SoundWaters (Stamford)
Young Mariners Academy - South End Community Center (Stratford)
2019 Summer Learning Enrichment & Employment - Stamford Family YMCA (Stamford)
Summer Enrichment Camp - Stamford Public Education Foundation (Stamford)
Summer Voyager Enrichment Program - Sterling House (Bridgeport/Stratford)
Sterling House Summer Day Camp
Thank you for being an essential partner in our shared efforts to bring high-quality summer learning to all youth in Fairfield County—an essential investment in a more vital and prosperous community where everyone has an opportunity to thrive. With your support, the future looks all the brighter.
