Press Release                                                                                                 

5/30/06

Mayor Menino, BELL partner to provide summer educational opportunities to children in Boston

June 14 press conference to announce a “Summer Learning Initiative,” funded by local corporations and foundations, that will provide up to 1,000 children with academic tutoring and social enrichment in BELL’s award-winning, six-week programs.

BOSTON:  Children who are having trouble in school and living in low-income communities will have a chance to participate in one of the nation’s best educational programs, BELL Summer, thanks to a partnership between Mayor Menino and BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life).  A press conference announcing their “Summer Learning Initiative” will take place at 10:00 am on Wednesday, June 14 at a BELL Summer program site: the Orchard Gardens Pilot School, located at 906 Albany Street in Roxbury.

“BELL is an integral partner to the City of Boston as we pursue solutions to some of our communities’ most pressing challenges,” said Mayor Menino.  “Working together, we have an opportunity to stem youth violence in Boston and bridge the academic achievement gap by providing summer learning opportunities to our most vulnerable student population.”

The BELL Summer Program provides children with a safe, fun and supportive learning environment while engaging them in rigorous academic instruction in literacy and math and a diverse array of social enrichment activities, such as art, music, drama and dance.  In the program, children demonstrate gains of six’ months’ academic skills, while children not engaged in structured summer programs tend to lose three months’ skills.  The lack of educational opportunities available to low-income families during the summer is a primary cause of chronic academic under-performance in school, and increases the risk of children becoming involved in crime, gang violence, and other negative outcomes.

“Summer is an incredible opportunity to help children who are underperforming in school achieve grade-level proficiency, develop as young leaders, and enter school ready to excel in the fall,” said Earl Martin Phalen, CEO of BELL.  “The Mayor’s partnership demonstrates the city’s commitment to children and sets a national example of how non-profit organizations can serve as important resources for helping students in public schools achieve high academic standards.”

BELL will operate four program sites this summer, including the Orchard Gardens site, the Mattahunt Elementary School, Roxbury Community College, and Bunker Hill Community College.  The program is being supported by several local corporations and foundations, including Fidelity Investments, Liberty Mutual, Citizen’s Bank Foundation, Reebok, Comcast, the Charles Hayden Foundation, Jane’s Trust, and the Lloyd G. Balfour Foundation. 

For more information, please contact Lester Strong at (617) 740-0431, or lstrong@bellnational.org. 

About BELL:  BELL is a national non-profit organization with a mission to dramatically increase the academic achievements, self-esteem and life opportunities of children living in low-income urban communities.  Headquartered in Dorchester, BELL provides educational after school and summer programs to 10,000 children annually.  BELL began as a community service project by a group of Harvard Law School students, led by CEO and Co-Founder Earl Martin Phalen.

BELL programs are nationally recognized for their positive impact on children’s academic and social achievements.  Most recently, Fast Company magazine and the Monitor Group recognized BELL as “one of the top 25 organizations changing the world.”  The Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University named BELL Summer the nation’s best educational summer program for children with its 2006 Excellence in Summer Learning Award.  Policy makers such as Senators Barack Obama (D-IL), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) have also recently recognized BELL programs as models of excellence.  Learn more at www.bellnational.org.

About Summer Learning:  Many researchers believe that a lack of high-quality educational opportunities available to children during the summer is one of the most significant contributors to persistent trends of academic under-achievement among children from low-income families.  Data demonstrates that while all children learn at the same rate during the school year, children from low-income families lose the equivalent of two months’ literacy skills and two months’ math skills during the summer.  At the same time, children from more affluent families actually gain skills from the opportunities that are available and encouraged for them.  In sum, summer learning loss adds three and a half months to the academic achievement gap each year.  Compounded annually, these summer losses are a major reason why the academic gap between low- and high-income children grows throughout the elementary school years, increasing from 65% in first grade to 96% in third grade.  The phenomenon known as “Summer Learning Loss” has been confirmed by at least 40 studies. 

Summer Learning Initiative Supporters:  The following organizations support BELL’s educational summer programs:

AGM Summer Fund, Bank of America, Boston Foundation, the Boston Red Sox, Charles Hayden Foundation,  Citizen’s Bank Foundation, Clipper Ship Foundation, Comcast, Fidelity Investments, Fordham Street Foundation, Grand Circle, Highland Street Foundation, Houghton Mifflin, Jane’s Trust, Liberty Mutual, George H. and Jane A. Mifflin Memorial Fund, Lloyd G. Balfour Foundation, New Profit, Inc., Paul and Edith Babson Foundation, Putnam Senior Executives Foundation, Reebok, Richard & Susan Smith Family Foundation, Rowland Family Foundation, William E. and Bertha E. Schrafft Charitable Trust, Sovereign Bank, Yawkey Foundation.