Summer Matters - Partnership for Children and Youth:
STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION TOM TORLAKSON TO LAUNCH 2012 SUMMER MATTERS CAMPAIGN
Superintendent Torlakson to Announce Statewide Initiative to Bolster Summertime Learning
Tuesday, April 17 – 12:30pm / San Francisco City Hall
San Francisco, CA – On Tuesday, April 17, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson will kick off “Summer Matters 2012” — a statewide campaign to expand summertime learning opportunities for California children at a launch event at San Francisco City Hall.
Superintendent Torlakson will be joined by school superintendents, elected officials and summer learning experts.
Superintendent Torlakson will announce statewide efforts to bolster summertime learning, highlight standout summer learning collaborations around the state and unveil the first-ever statewide map of Summer Learning “Hot Spots” – exemplary summer learning programs – across California.
Media & Interview Opportunities
Tuesday, April 17 / San Francisco City Hall
12:30pm – Summer Matters Campaign Kick Off led by Superintendent Tom Torlakson
1pm – One-on-one interviews with Superintendent Torlakson, school superintendents and summer-learning leaders.
Summer learning programs contribute substantially to children’s education and cities’ future workforce development, with a vast body of research showing that children’s participation in summer learning programs is a major factor in their academic success.
The Summer Matters Campaign launch is being organized by the Partnership for Children and Youth, the Bay Area-based nonprofit that’s spearheading efforts to prevent summer learning loss and expand access to high quality summer learning programs for California’s low-income children.
A lack of summer learning and enrichment opportunities leads to “summer learning loss” – a loss in students’ academic skills and knowledge during the summer months. Summer learning loss, which is cumulative over time, contributes directly to a widening of the achievement gap between low-income and middle-income students and a lack of summer learning opportunities also contributes to increased student drop-out rates.
Children from low-income households who lack access to summer learning programs also disproportionately gain weight in summer because they lack access to the recreational programs and meal programs available during the school year and spend more time watching TV and being sedentary, thus increasing their risk of childhood obesity.
More information about the Summer Matters Campaign is at:
ABOUT SUMMER MATTERS CAMPAIGN
Led by Partnership for Children and Youth (www.partnerforchildren.org), the Summer Matters campaign is a collaborative effort to expand and improve summer learning across the state of California. With support from the David and Lucile Packard, Noyce, S.D. Bechtel, Jr. and San Francisco Foundations along with Kaiser Permanente, Summer Matters is raising awareness about the devastating effects of summer learning loss and weight gain, and about the power of high-quality summer programs to boost children’s learning and health in the summer. The driving vision of Summer Matters is that all low-income students in California have access to quality summer-learning opportunities that support success and well-being. Learn more at: http://partnerforchildren.org/what-we-do/out-of-school-time-initiatives/summer-programs/summer-practice-consortium
