A New Vision for Summer in California
The California Library Association (CLA) is proud to be helping to shape a new vision for community-based summer enrichment programs as part of an initiative supported by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
Across the state, schools, after-school providers, libraries, parks, and other community groups are coming together to develop a new approach for summer enrichment in California. Together, we are providing unique resources and experiences to broaden the horizons of low-income youth, strengthen their connections to their community’s resources, and fill the empty weeks of summer with enrichment and academic activities that form a bridge from one school year to the next.
CLA is coordinating libraries’ participation in the initiative, developing resources to help libraries and community-based summer enrichment programs develop meaningful partnerships, and supporting and developing libraries’ role in the new vision for summer.
In 2009, Fresno County Public Library, Oakland Public Library, and Santa Clara County Library issued nearly 600 new library cards to low-income children enrolled in community-based summer programs; bookmobiles and librarians visited summer program sites; library staff trained summer program staff in how to use the library effectively; and children and teens took field trips to the library.
For many, this was their first introduction to the library. The introduction was especially meaningful because it was made in partnership with community-based summer programs which were trusted by the students and their families. Furthermore, libraries helped summer program staff design high-quality, well-received summer enrichment programs, and present curricula that included a focus on literacy and the language arts.
In 2010, San Francisco Public Library and Whittier Public Library will also participate in the initiative. Library staff will provide library cards for children and teens, host family nights and other programs at the library, and take part in activities at the summer sites. In Fresno, libraries and parks are working together to provide coordinated and synergistic support to community-based summer programs.
Cooperation between community institutions strengthens all parties by leveraging and maximizing all of a community’s resources to the benefit of its children and youth. The new vision for summer is bringing together the best elements of what schools, communities and families have to offer to keep kids safe, engaged and learning when school is out.
For a full description of CLA’s and libraries’ contribution to this initiative in 2009, please see the article, Summer Enrichment Programs and the Public Library: CLA’s Partnership with the Summer Practice Consortium in the April 2010 issue of CLArion, CLA's member-exclusive print magazine.
CLA’s participation in this work is funded by a grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
For comprehensive information and resources on summer learning loss, and the importance of high-quality summer enrichment experiences, see the National Summer Learning Association website.