YOUR SOURCE FOR SUMMER LEARNING NEWS
June 17, 2021
Issue No. 37
Photo credit: ANYTOWN®, CAMP EDMO®, and Canoemobile (Excellence in Summer Learning Award-Winning Programs)
Commentary on Summer From National Leaders
Look To Experienced Summer Learning Programs When It Comes to COVID Recovery
Greetings!
Summer learning is a game-changer and has never mattered more than it does right now. During a challenging year of remote learning, students faced increased mental health stress, higher rates of absenteeism, and disengagement in school.

High-quality summer programs have the chance to make a real difference for students this year. We’ve teamed up with fellow summer learning organizations, Aim High, BellXcel, Breakthrough Collaborative and Horizons National, to share why now is the time for long-term partnerships among programs, schools, and districts.
New! DiscoverSummer.org
A One Stop Destination for Summer Programs, Meals, and Learning Adventures
The National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) is excited to share Discover Summer, a new online resource powered by InPlay.

DiscoverSummer.org is a new online destination, developed in response to COVID-19, to help families discover affordable summer programs, summer meals, parent tips and a sea of resources to keep kids learning, earning, safe and healthy this season.
After the Past Year, Families Deserve (and Need) A Recharge!
NSLA and Learning Heroes, along with the National PTA, Univision, and Remake Learning Days Across America, are excited to debut Summer REcharge, a research-based bilingual resource.

From your child finally getting to see family and friends to finding ways to refuel their passions…learning can be at the center. In fact, kids thrive when they feel connected to who they are learning with and what they are learning.
Raising confident, happy kids takes a village. After a year of much research, learning, and reflecting, we know that’s true now more than ever. And parents and teachers shouldn’t have to do it alone. 

In the spirit of stronger together and never alone, GreatSchools.org, Learning Heroes, and NSLA partnered to present the Summer Togetherness series — a virtual learning series for parents, caregivers, and education champions who believe in the power of togetherness to tackle the challenges of yesterday and turn them into fun opportunities of tomorrow.

Most recently, NSLA's founder, Matthew Boulay PhD., offered tips to parents in search of high-quality, safe and affordable summer enrichment programs, either offered by their school districts or out-of-school providers, and how such programs can help address unfinished learning and students' social-emotional health.
Proclaim National Summer Learning Week
National Summer Learning Week is July 12-16, 2021 and we need your help to elevate the essential role summer learning plays in helping America’s young people recover, recharge and refresh skills critical to a successful school year ahead.
Submit a formal request to your municipal leader using this sample proclamation language and follow these simple steps for further engagement.

  1. Find your local representatives on Twitter here.
  2. Use this language to tweet to your local representatives. Just make sure to add the Twitter Handles before pressing the "Tweet" button.

Are you hosting your own Summer Learning Week celebration? Post your summer program event or celebration on our Events Tracker to help families in your area find you!
Nintendo Partners With NSLA and Girls Make Games
To celebrate the launch of the Game Builder Garage game, which is now available for the Nintendo Switch family of systems, Nintendo is teaming up with NSLA and Girls Make Games to show how fun it is to create your own video games.

NSLA is proud to partner with Nintendo to help children follow their passion in making games!
Fighting Summer Hunger in Latino Communities
No Kid Hungry is helping families find summer meals near them through their Free Meals Finder map and texting hotline. These meals are free for all kids and teens, no questions asked.

No Kid Hungry also recently hosted a media town hall on summer hunger in Latino communities, conducted in Spanish with simultaneous English interpretation. Here are five key takeaways along with the recording of the event.

How can you help end summer hunger?

On Wednesday, June 23, No Kid Hungry will host a digital day of action to end summer hunger and they need your help to reach out to Congress. See how you can make a difference. Additionally, No Kid Hungry created a media kit to help you connect kids with the meals they need by getting the word out across your channels.
New Report: Time for a Game-Changing Summer
​Summer has always been an important time in the lives of children—and Summer 2021 is poised to be even more critical, as families start to recover from the tremendous disruption and loss caused by COVID-19. Yet a new study finds that student participation in summer learning programs remains low, despite high parent satisfaction.

In fact, for every child in a summer learning program in 2019, another was waiting to get in, according to Time for a Game-Changing Summer, With Opportunity and Growth for All of America’s Youth, a new study commissioned by the Afterschool Alliance and conducted by Edge Research.
Help Raise Awareness of Afterschool and Summer Programs
This summer will be one for the books. As states begin to lift statewide coronavirus-related restrictions and vaccinations continue to roll out, the public is hopeful for a return to normal in the near future. A recent survey of parents of school-age children found that nearly two-thirds say that they are comfortable sending their child to in-person summer activities.

By taking Afterschool Alliance’s short survey, you are helping document the ways in which the pandemic continues to impact your program, the supports your program is providing to the children and families in your community, and lift up the short- and long-term effects of COVID-19 on the afterschool field as a whole.
All those who complete the survey by 6/27 will be entered into a drawing for the chance to win one of 50 gift cards in the amount of $50!
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