News Release

The Center for Summer Learning at The Johns Hopkins University has announced the launch of a national fund-raising and education campaign to generate $50 million in public investment for summer learning programs.

A grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies will fund the center's initial outreach efforts, which will include advancing summer learning as a key policy priority across the nation. The campaign will further the center's mission to fundamentally transform awareness of and access to summer learning programs for disadvantaged youth in the United States.

Research consistently shows that all young people — and particularly those from low-income families — face significant risk of losing ground academically over the summer months, said Ron Fairchild, executive director of the Center for Summer Learning, a part of the university's School of Education. The center's new campaign is intended to improve access to high-quality summer learning opportunities for young people in impoverished communities by increasing and best leveraging public funding for youth programs.

In addition to encouraging comprehensive funding for high- quality summer learning programs, the center will work closely with school districts to strengthen policies and practices related to summer learning programs; provide training and management assistance to organizations operating summer programs; and engage a growing national network of exemplary summer program providers in an effort to build public support for quality programs.

"High-quality, enriching summer experiences are something many families are able to take for granted," Fairchild said. We are launching this national campaign to ensure that every child who needs high-quality summer learning will receive it and benefit from it, regardless of his or her socioeconomic status."

"We will work to get the STEP UP Act in the United States Senate and similar pieces of legislation approved to guarantee the funding of these programs, which serve as the foundation for the future success of our most vulnerable yet promising young people," said Fairchild, who will manage the campaign.

The three-year $2.5 million grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies will allow the campaign to begin immediately, Fairchild said. The center plans to raise another $7.5 million to bolster its efforts to ensure that low-income youth across the United States have opportunities to learn in high-quality programs during the summer months.

About the Center for Summer Learning
The mission of The Center for Summer Learning is to create opportunities for high-quality summer learning for all young people. Founded in 1992, the center has a proven track record of developing, evaluating, and promoting summer learning programs that improve student achievement and youth development. Over the past 15 years, the center has grown from operating a local program serving 50 children to become the only national organization focused exclusively on summer learning. Last year, the center helped generate more than $12 million of public investment in summer learning programs that reached more than 25,000 children and youth in three states. In addition, the center provided training to more than 1,000 summer program providers in 20 states that collectively serve over one million youth.

About the Johns Hopkins School of Education
The Johns Hopkins School of Education addresses the most challenging issues facing public education today through its graduate programs that prepare highly qualified teachers and school leaders, research and development activities, and partnerships with school systems statewide. The school awards more than 500 masters' degrees in education a year, more than any other Maryland institution. In addition, the school's nationally renowned Division of Public Safety Leadership offers undergraduate and graduate programs for police, fire, emergency, medical personnel, and government security agencies. The school's more than 2,500 students are enrolled at the university's Homewood campus in Baltimore and two off-campus centers located in the Baltimore-Washington area. Information is available at www.education.jhu.edu.

About The Atlantic Philanthropies
The Atlantic Philanthropies are dedicated to bringing about lasting changes in the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable people. Atlantic focuses on four critical social problems: aging, disadvantaged children and youth, population health and reconciliation and human rights. Programs funded by Atlantic operate in Australia, Bermuda, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United States and Viet Nam. To learn more, see www.atlanticphilanthropies.org.