DAYTON, OH, February 10, 2012
/24-7PressRelease/ -- National research shows most children lose two to three months of reading comprehension during the summer months. The Boys & Girls Club of Dayton (BGCD) is trying to combat this by using summer vacation to prepare children to transition to the next grade. In partnership with the Children's Defense Fund, BGCD will offer a six-week summer learning opportunity focused on literacy for students in grades K-8 who are most at risk of learning loss during the summer break.
Each day of Freedom Schools will begin with Harambee—a celebration filled with singing, dancing, cheering and call-and-response activities—and end with a community guest reader. After Harambee, the day continues with two-and-a-half hours of an integrated reading curriculum built upon the theme I Can Make a Difference. Children read books, which they can take home, that reflect their ethnicities and cultural heritage. In the afternoon, children go on field trips and participate in other mind-stimulating activities related to making a difference.
College students will act as Servant Leaders and work with children on a 10-1 ratio helping them gain a love for reading. The experience benefits both the interns and the children, and creates a confidence in both that proves to be life changing.
"Education breaks the cycle of poverty and reading is the key to academic success. CDF Freedom Schools' integrated reading curriculum is a proven model for success that is impacting children and their families across the country," said Boys & Girls Club of Dayton Executive Director Natasha Spears on her decision to partner with Children's Defense Fund Freedom Schools.
Registration for the BGCD Freedom School will open to the public Monday, March 5, 2012. For the first time, BGCD will make an online application available. Visit http://www.bgcdayton.org for more information about Freedom School registration, Servant Leader internships, volunteering with the school or being a guest reader at Harambee.
Established in 1930, the Boys & Girls Club of Dayton (BGCD) provides daily afterschool and all day summer programs to children ages 5 to 18, getting them off the streets during the most dangerous time of the day, between 2:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Each year BGCD provides approximately 600 Montgomery County youth with a safe and positive place to learn and grow. At the Boys & Girls Club children can spend their non-school hours surrounded by caring adults and engaged in enriching, age appropriate youth development activities. Club members have access to an array of programs in the core areas of Academic Success, Civic & Social Engagement, and Healthy Lifestyles. Membership fees are low and affordable and afterschool participation includes a nutritious meal served daily. BGCD is part of the national federation of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, which includes some 4,000 Club locations in the 50 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and U.S. military bases worldwide serving 4.2 million youth annually.
---
Press release service and press release distribution provided by http://www.24-7pressrelease.com# # #
Read more Press Releases from Ann Holtzapple:
