Providence Summerbridge Celebrates 20 Years of Success

Providence Summerbridge Celebrates 20 Years of Success

Massachusetts First Lady and education advocate Diane Patrick, Esq., will be in Providence this weekend to help mark an important anniversary for a local enrichment program. Providence Summerbridge: A Breakthrough Program, will commemorate its 20th Anniversary on Saturday, June 9th, with a day full of festivities at the Wheeler School in Providence.

Providence Summerbridge, hosted at the Wheeler School, is a year-round out-of-school-time program that offers middle school students the chance and the tools to academically advance themselves. It accomplishes this goal with a central pedagogy in mind: “students teaching students.” As a community pillar, it has dedicated itself to a two-fold mission: to create a pathway to college for low-income, academically motivated middle school students in Providence Public Schools and to encourage talented high school and college students to pursue careers in education.

More than 650 students

Since its founding in 1992, Providence Summerbridge has engaged over 650 middle school students from Providence public schools. 98% of its students are students of color, 83% are from low-income households, and 74% will be the first in their families to attend a 4-year college. 100% of the most recent class of students graduated from high school and 81% were enrolled in a 4-year college. This is compared to a 68% high school graduation rate and 33% 4-year college enrollment rate in Providence.

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Time to celebrate

In honor of its milestone, Providence Summerbridge has arranged a series of free and public events. The day’s kick-off event is a Street Festival in the Wheeler School's Courtyard,where Summerbridge members will reconnect over games and cuisine from local food trucks. Following the festival is Bridgeball, a true Summerbridge tradition, where players will display their ultimate dodging skills in the Wheeler Gym. The Director & Alumni Panels, the day’s last free event (to be held at Brown University) will provide time for reflection and sharing as former Summerbridge Directors speak about Summerbridge’s past, present, and future and alumni describe their development as first generation college graduates and professional teachers.

The night will end with an Awards Cocktail Reception in Wheeler Hall, where Providence Summerbridge will honor those who have helped shape its “students teaching students” model over the past 20 years. It is at this event that Diane Patrick, Esq. First Lady of Massachusetts, will provide the keynote address.

Diane Patrick

Diane Patrick, an advocate for education, graduated with honors from Queens College of the City University of New York, she dedicated five years to teaching in New York City elementary schools. She later studied labor and employment law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles after budget cuts forced her out of teaching. From Harvard to DC and back to Boston, Patrick has committed herself to various communities, most especially those of students and teachers. Diane Patrick’s experience and passion for education grants her the ability to understand and celebrate what Providence SB has accomplished over the last 20 years.

Tickets for the Awards Cocktail Reception can be purchased at www.providencesb20.eventbrite.com for $50 or $25 for a young professional/student.For more information, contact Dulari Tahbildar, Executive Director, Providence Summerbridge at (401) 528-2127 or [email protected].

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