New Alachua County Youth Program Aims to Make Reading More Relatable, (WUFT, Florida)
In Gainesville, Florida, a pastor has created a reading program aimed at closing the achievement gap between white and black students in the community. The Rev. Gerard Duncan designed I-Read, based on the idea that African-American children read more when presented with culturally relevant texts. Through the program, community volunteers read texts featuring African-American characters and history with about 200 children in the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs (PRCA) Department’s summer camps. PRCA also hopes to include I-Read in its afterschool programs in the coming year. “Our children belong to all of us, and so it’s going to take all of us to really work through [the achievement gap],” Kevin Berry, a curriculum specialist for Alachua County Public Schools, told WUFT.
A summer program uses the arts to combat the achievement gap (The Hechinger Report, Maryland)
In Baltimore’s Summer Arts and Learning Academy, more than 2,200 students are working with local artists to maintain their math and literacy skills. Designed to minimize summer learning loss among low-income students, the cost-free program is a collaboration between Baltimore City Public Schools and the local arts-based education nonprofit, Young Audiences. Student assessments indicate the academy is effective at increasing academic achievement, but instead of traditional school activities, students get hands-on experience with art forms like spoken word, dance and illustration. “They don’t even realize we’re doing math and literacy instruction because we’re having so much fun,” Lara Ohanian, director of differentiated learning at the district, told The Hechinger Report.
In Nauticus camps, kids are driving force behind sailboats (Virginian-Pilot, Virginia)
In Norfolk, Virginia, Sail Nauticus students are spending their summer tying square knots, docking boats, and hoisting sails. Sail Nauticus was founded to change the demographics associated with sailing by increasing access to sailing programs for low-income students. Nauticus’ tuition-free afterschool and summer learning programs use sailing to teach STEM concepts and inspire leadership skills. “We’re not trying to build kids into sailors,” Sail Nauticus programs coordinator Catherine Townes told the Virginian-Pilot. “We’re trying to build them into exceptional young adults.”
In St. Louis, Beyond Housing’s Healthy Internship Program (HIP) aims to boost students’ nutrition and foster peer-to-peer mentorship. Through the program, high school student interns lead classes on culinary arts and healthy eating for younger students in Beyond Housing’s afterschool and summer learning programs. HIP is a response to calls for access to healthier food in the area, which was once designated a food desert. The younger students “get to see people who look like them, cooking healthier meals and teaching them how to make healthier decisions,” Ted Simpson, Beyond Housing’s community health manager, told the St. Louis American.