Great news about improving summer learning!
12/1/2011
Duval County Public Schools and The Jacksonville Children's Commission received well-deserved kudos from representatives of the Wallace Foundation and Rand Corporation at The Forum on Summer Learning held this past Tuesday at the downtown library.
DCPS and the Children's Commission are combining efforts to participate in a four-year Wallace grant to test whether summer learning programs produce lasting academic gains for low-income students. This past summer students at six elementary schools took part in a special version of the Superintendent's Summer Academy that combined strong academics with enrichment through Children's Commission providers.
The visitors shared that of the six school districts receiving Wallace grants, Duval County has the most rigorous academic program and its district-city partnership to leverage and align resources is top-notch.
A second Wallace Foundation grant is being awarded to The Children's Commission to create a high quality system of out of school time programs.
It is great to see national foundations coming to Jacksonville to strengthen our programs for low-income students and partner with us in closing the achievement gap!
-- Pam Paul
Read more on the RAND Corporation's new Wallace Foundation-commissioned report, "Making Summer Count: How Summer Programs Can Boost Children's Learning."