Differences in summer learning opportunities contribute to the achievement gaps that separate struggling minority and poor students from their middle-class peers. Studies show that the achievement gap widens during the summer for far too many children, with most losing about two months worth of grade level math skills.
And while middle-class students make small gains in their reading skills over the summer, low-income students lose more than two months.
Summer Opportunities for One Million Children
As president, Barack Obama will support partnerships between schools, community groups, and faith-based organizations to provide summer opportunities to an additional 1 million children.
The Council will assist local organizations apply for funding to operate evidence-based summer learning programs and to design effective programs that conform to best practices.
Whether these services are provided by community nonprofits like the Bell Summer program, coalitions of faith-based groups like the YET Centers, or mixed partnerships like the CDF Freedom Schools, Obama believes that we should support these myriad arrangements tackle problems such as achievement gaps in literacy and math.
FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
Barack Obama’s new summer learning program will cost about $500 million per year. He will finance this Barack Obama’s new summer learning program will cost about $500 million per year.
He will finance this program without increasing the deficit by cutting wasteful spending in government procurement and management. By better managing surplus property owned by the federal government, reducing growth in the federal travel budget and implementing the GAO’s recommendations on streamlining the federal procurement process, Barack Obama’s plan will cut several billion dollars in wasteful spending from the federal budget each year.
SOURCE - Contents of this article excerpted from PARTNERING WITH COMMUNITIES OF FAITH by the Obama '08 campaign.
