National Summer Learning Association Chooses Phillips Brooks House Association as One of the Best Summer Learning Programs
National Summer Learning Association Chooses Phillips Brooks House Association as One of the Best Summer Learning Programs
Baltimore, MD (PRWEB) August 15, 2011
The National Summer Learning Association has chosen the Cambridge, Mass.-based Phillips Brooks House Association’s Summer Urban Program (SUP) (http://pbha.org/) as a recipient of its 2011 Excellence in Summer Learning Award.
This annual award recognizes summer programs demonstrating excellence in accelerating academic achievement and promoting healthy development for young people, as measured by
the Association’s Comprehensive Assessment of Summer Programs. Winning programs also demonstrate exemplary practices in overall programming, including supporting staff, schools and other program partners in fulfilling shared goals.
Research has established that low-income students are disproportionately at risk to lose academic skills during the summer. While most children lose up to two months worth of math skills during summer breaks, lower-income children also lose two months of reading skills. Excellence Award winning programs strive to curb these losses, but also employ other research-based practices to build 21st Century skills, confidence, parental engagement and future aspirations.
“This year’s Excellence Award winners are nothing short of inspiring,” said Sarah Pitcock, the Association’s senior director of program quality. “This diverse crop of programs is evidence that regardless of subject matter or setting, young people thrive when summer learning programs build positive relationships, self-efficacy and knowledge in equal measure.”
SUP began in 1980 and serves about 900 urban elementary, middle, and high school students in its seven-week programs in Boston and Cambridge. The summer program has 11 summer day camp sites and provides an evening program to teach English as a second language to immigrant and refugee teens. PBHA’s Boston Refugee Youth Enrichment and Refugee Youth Summer Enrichment both target low-English-proficiency students and have been recognized by Boston Public Schools as alternatives to summer school. Its Native American Youth Enrichment Program is the only summer camp specifically for Native American youth in Massachusetts.
All participants come from Boston’s Empowerment Zone—Dorchester, Mission Hill, Roxbury, and the South End—or neighborhoods in Cambridge, Chinatown, and South Boston affected by poverty and violence. About 95 percent of participants are eligible for free or reduced priced lunches; 75 percent live in public housing; and about 7 percent have disabilities.
SUP is designed to stop learning loss, connect students with quality service-learning, and increase graduation and college enrollment rates. SUP programs include activities that blend support in core academic areas with social and emotional development and increased community awareness and activism. Daily field trips help to expose young people to community resources and experiences they may not otherwise access, and each program’s service projects and advocacy are closely tailored to youth interests and neighborhood need. For example, one neighborhood had a high prevalence of asthma. The students learned that one of the biggest causes of asthma in their community was diesel buses; then, in partnership with the non-profit Alternatives for Community and Environment, they advocated and lobbied to help the city get a $ 100,000 federal grant to install mufflers on the buses.
Part of what makes SUP so unique is that PBHA makes a commitment to young people that can span decades. Participants can join the program in elementary school, become Junior Counselors from ages 14-18 and go on to lead the program as Senior Counselors or Directors during college and into their careers. Junior Counselors receive job training and wages, gain teaching experience, prepare for college with SAT classes and college visits, and receive support with resume development and employment searches. Senior staff members complete a certificate program in nonprofit management and gain teaching experience. While many of the staff are alumni of the program who attend a variety of secondary and post-secondary schools, SUP is also supported by a corps of Harvard University undergraduate students who both coordinate and staff the programs.
PBHA’s evaluation shows that 85 percent of campers improve scores from pre-camp to post-camp diagnostic tests. Ninety-eight percent of junior counselors report plans to attend college.
“We believe that SUP’s strength is grounded in the dedication and support of our parents and community partners,” said Maria Dominguez Gray, Deputy Director. “We’re thankful for this award and hope to continue working together to provide enriching, meaningful experiences for our children and teens. “
The other four winners of the 2011 Excellence in Summer Learning Award are Project Exploration of Chicago; the Pennsylvania Migrant Education Program; and the Fiver Children’s Foundation and Global Kids, Inc., both based in New York City.
Twitter version: Cambridge’s @PBHAserves is an Excellence in #summerlearning Award winner: http://bit.ly/bURh3S
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The mission of the National Summer Learning Association is to connect and equip schools and community organizations to deliver quality summer learning programs to our nation’s youth to help close the achievement gap. The organization serves as a network hub for thousands of summer learning program providers and stakeholders across the country, providing tools, resources, and expertise to improve program quality, generate support, and increase youth access and participation. For more information, visit http://www.summerlearning.org.
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