RELEASED June 28, 2010

ENRICHING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS HELP KIDS AVOID LEARNING LOSS, BEHAVIORAL RISKS, WEIGHT GAIN

FRESNO, Calif. - Research shows that children who lack access to enriching summer learning activities face a number of behavioral risks, a greater potential for weight gain, and they typically experience learning loss over the summer months. To combat these issues, Fresno organizations are collaborating to offer fun, educational resources to benefit local children and youth.

Through hands-on summer learning programs that blend education and fun through active learning, literacy, fitness, nutrition and the outdoors, parents and educators can help to close the summer learning gap. While this phenomenon affects all youth, the summer learning gap is more pronounced for low-income students who face access challenges to affordable summer programs. Low-income children may experience a two- to three-month setback in reading skills, while children from higher income families can make slight gains over the summer. 

“When we leave children unsupervised during the summer, we place them at an even greater risk than during the school year,” said Lindsay S. Callahan, executive director of Central Valley Children’s Partnership. “A recent survey of 1,166 California households reported that nearly 75% of those polled do not have a child participating in a summer learning program, yet 66% had a desire to do so. Economic hardships are a common reason for this gap, however the good news is that there are free and low-cost resources available in the Valley that offer children an enriching summer experience.”

An example of an innovative program that is casting a new vision for summer learning is the Central Enrichment Summer Adventures program. This partnership among Central Unified School District, the Fresno County Office of Education and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation is one of five statewide pilot programs that offer free, fun, experiential learning to underserved youth. The five-week program began June 14, and it engages 350 fifth through eighth graders.

“The enrichment program targets the critical transitional years to prepare students for greater academic success,” said Mike Berg, superintendent of Central Unified School District. “We are focusing our efforts, resources and partnerships this summer so that students achieve success in career, college and community.”                                         

One of the unique characteristics of Central Unified’s summer enrichment program is the collaboration of multiple organizations that are pooling their resources to benefit Fresno youth. Local organizations that are working together to benefit students through the program include: Central Valley Children’s Partnership, Fresno County Library, San Joaquin River Parkway, City of Fresno, PARCS (Parks, After School, Recreation and Community Services), California Teaching Fellows Foundation, United Black Men, Center for Multicultural Cooperation, California State Parks, and others.

As part of Central Unified’s program, several events that take learning to the streets are planned in July:

• Civic and Cultural Connections Day (Friday, July 2) – To learn about Fresno and its cultural connections, students will take tours of downtown Fresno, guided by global positioning systems (GPS). Tour stops will include the courthouse, museums, city hall, the library, Chukchansi Park, and Fresno County Office of Education.
• Outdoor Adventure Race (Friday, July 9) – Following a week of interactive learning about nature, parks, the environment, water conservation and the San Joaquin River, this outdoor compass-guided race through Woodward Park and the San Joaquin River Parkway will test students’ knowledge of the outdoors.
• Servant Leadership Day (Friday, July 16) – Inspired by Mayor Ashley Swearengin’s call for a million hours of volunteer community service, students will learn about servant leadership through a hands-on service experience that meets specific community needs identified by the students, as well as hearing an inspiring leadership message. Students’ volunteer hours will be logged as a contribution to the city’s million hours goal.

Parents can take an active role in addressing the issue of summer learning loss by enrolling children in local educational and enrichment programs; combining learning with vacations and outings; setting summer learning goals such as reading five books; and visiting places that offer learning opportunities, such as libraries, museums and national parks. For a list of local summer enrichment opportunities and ideas, parents can logon to www.centralvalleyafterschool.org, or visit the front desk of the downtown Fresno County Library.

About Central Valley Afterschool Foundation and Central Valley Children’s Partnership: Located in Clovis, Calif., Central Valley Children’s Partnership (CVCP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building programs for children and youth, developing young leaders and facilitating sustainable partnerships to benefit Central Valley youth. CVCP’s subsidiary organization, Central Valley Afterschool Foundation, works to provide all children and youth in the Central Valley with opportunities to grow and develop during their time out of school. For more information, visit www.centralvalleyafterschool.org.

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