Nearly Half of RI Kids Missing Out on Summer Programs
Cheryl Phillips, GoLocalProv News Correspondent
Nearly Half of RI Kids Missing Out on Summer Programs
A study done by America After 3PM, sponsored by the JCPenney Afterschool Fund, shows that only 36 percent of Rhode Island school children take part in summer learning programs that offer a safe, structured learning environment. Forty-four percent of Rhode Island kids, (an estimated 49,253 children) are not currently enrolled in a summer learning program. Based on the study, parents reported that they would likely participate if a program were available. Four in five Rhode Island parents (81 percent) support public funding for summer learning programs.
"In Rhode Island, we're losing critical opportunities to educate and enrich our students during the summer," said Christine Gingerella, Director of Schools & Community Organized to Promote Excellence (SCOPE) at the Dr. Earl F. Calcutt Middle School in Central Falls and an Afterschool Ambassador for the Afterschool Alliance. "All students should have the chance to participate in summer learning programs so they can explore their talents, maintain their academics and enrich their lives."
The study done by America After 3PM indicates that low-income and ethnic minority children are more likely to attend summer learning programs than other children, but because the resources and funding may not be available.
Children who do not have access to any summer learning programs risk losing the academic progress they have made during the school year. According to a 2007 report in the American Sociological Review, these students typically score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer vacation than they do on the same tests at the beginning of the summer.
In Rhode Island, 334 households were surveyed for this study. Thirty-one percent of the households surveyed qualified for free or reduced price lunch, 9 percent were Hispanic and 1 percent was African-American.
The Executive Director of the Afterschool Alliance, Jodi Grant, has urged lawmakers to fund 21st Century Community Learning Centers, which support after school and summer programs.
The 21st Century Community Learning Centers program supports the creation of community learning centers that help to provide academic enrichment opportunities during non-school hours for children, especially those who attend low-performing schools and/or who live in high-poverty areas. Read more about the Afterschool Alliance here.