When school ends and summer begins, many kids are left with nothing to do and nowhere to go, putting them at risk of being unsupervised, unsafe and vulnerable to “summer learning loss.”
Most students lose about two months of grade level equivalency in math skills over the summer. Low-income students also lose more than two months in reading achievement, while middle-class peers make slight gains. Low-income youth are nearly three grade equivalents behind their more affluent peers in reading by the end of the fifth grade due to summer learning loss, reports the U.S. Census Bureau.
To help turn these statistics around, the Boys & Girls Club of Sonoma County recently launched its Great Summers campaign to give every child access to high-quality summer learning activities. More than 80 percent of the kids the organization serves come from low-income homes.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Sonoma County hosts seven summer camps throughout the six communities it serves. It costs $1,000 to send one kid to summer camp for nine-weeks, five days a week, including breakfast and lunch. The Boys & Girls Club is working to send 250 additional youth to camp this summer.
The organization is convening public, private and nonprofit partners throughout our community to ensure every child has access to engaging summer activities. The nonprofit will host its Great Summer Kickoff at Paradise Ridge Winery on June 12 to conclude its 60-day “countdown to summer.”
For more information, go to bgccsc.org or call 707.528.7977.
