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![MP900409455[1]](http://nationalassembly.org/images/newsletters/SummerLearning.jpg)
School’s Out, but Summer Learning is Just Getting Started!
Research suggests that up to two-thirds of the disparities in reading-levels between lower income and more affluent children are attributable to unequal summer learning opportunities. By the end of fifth grade, lower-income children are nearly three grade equivalents behind students who come from middle and higher-income families. This can have long-term impacts on a child’s future, including whether they will earn graduate from high school or go on to college.
To help raise awareness about this issue, there’s a new coalition – the National Summer Learning Coalition – convened by the National Summer Learning Association and comprised by some of the nation’s leading youth advocacy organizations, including the National Collaboration for Youth.
Learn more about the NSLC and how it – and its members – are working to close the gap on summer learning loss.
Also, be sure to check out the “What Works” and FSN resource sections for more tips and tools. |
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ALL ABOUT FAMILIES
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What Works for Summer Learning Programs?
Make Summer Count!
Rand’s new report, Making Summer Count, draws on current research to make the case for summer learning as a way to mitigate the reading gap. It also offers summer learning advocates – from providers to policymakers – important insights into what works and what doesn’t for summer programs, including everything from curricula to strategies for identifying a range of funding sources.
Access the report.
Family and Teachers Are the Essential for Effective Summer Reading
Analysis of different approaches to summer reading indicates that voluntary summer reading programs can work—but they work best when adults and teachers get involved by helping students to choose appropriate books and employ simple techniques to improve skill and understanding.
Providing books with no guidance may not help much at all. But when children get help choosing skill-appropriate books and read those books over the summer break, both independently and with guidance from family members, reading achievement scores can improve significantly.
Access National Summer Learning Association’s report, How to Make Summer Reading Effective.
Nine Programs We’ve Learned From
In 2005, researchers and staff at the Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University examined various summer program models and the evidence of their effectiveness. As a result of this research, the center published a handbook describing the characteristics of effective summer learning programs. The nine characteristics provide a framework for profiles contained in this report and demonstrate how effective practices lead to positive results for young people.
Access the report, Characteristics of effective summer learning programs in practice.
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ALL ABOUT KIDS
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180,000 Could Lose Pell Grants – and a Shot at Higher-Paying jobs
The House-passed budget would deal a devastating $5.6 billion cut to Pell Grants, which provides college financial aid to low-income families. That means 1.4 million students could be affected and at least 180,000 students would lose their Pell financial aid entirely - limiting their access to college and the job training and increased income that comes with it. Learn more about this possible threat to young people’s educational opportunities and join Voice's for America's Children in their effort to prevent the cut.
 Federal Programs Proven to Help Protect Young Children’s Health
Poor nutrition, unstable housing and inadequate home heating can jeopardize the health and early development of children. Studies show, however, that federal programs that have been effective in reducing risks of poor health and development, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and subsidized housing help to improve child outcomes. Read the new policy brief from Children’s HealthWatch at SparkAction.org.
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More News Features
Protecting Our Children in Tough Economic Times: What Can the United States Learn from Britain? Read more at FirstFocus.
House Agriculture Appropriations: Some WIC Funding Restored, but Other Cuts to Nutrition and Housing Programs Stay. Read more in the HSS announcement.
Numbers Have Dropped for Foster Care, but Not Equally Across the Board. View the Child Trends Foster Care Data Snapshot.
President Obama Announces “How to Make Change” Series for Young Americans. Read the White House press release.
Leading by Example: Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. Pairs Mentors with At-risk Teens in Danger of cuts. Read the Chicago Tribune article.
Juvenile Justice Reform Program That Treats Kids as Kids Proves Successful. Learn more about the MacArthur model of juvenile justice initiative and pilot outcomes.
Report Shows States Emphasize Collaboration in Developing Youth Policies. Read the Spark Action summary.
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ADDITIONAL TOOLS AND RESOURCES
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EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
| American Legion Child Welfare Foundation Grants |
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Support for organizations that contribute to the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual welfare of children through the dissemination of information about new and innovative programs.
Deadline – July 15, 2011.
Learn more.
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| Funding for Education and Child Welfare System Collaborative Projects |
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Support for partnerships between child welfare agencies, education systems, and other critical stakeholders to ensure youth, ages 10-17, in the child welfare system are afforded the ability to succeed and thrive in educational settings.
Deadline – July 26, 2011.
Learn more.
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| Funding for Family-based Farming Programs |
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Support for organizations that work to maintain a family farm system of agriculture and that promote solutions to the challenges facing rural communities.
Deadline – August 1, 2011.
Learn more. |
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The National Assembly is an association of leading national nonprofit health, human service and community development organizations . . . Learning, Leading, Together
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