HOPEbriefs | The Families That Can’t Afford Summer

Just last week, our students completed their final day of summer school. As Mr. Watkins told his second graders they’d be finishing their summer reading groups, here’s the telling – and heart wrenching – conversation he had with a student:

“Mr. Watkins, tomorrow will be the last day I read.”
“What do you mean tomorrow will be the last day you read?!”
“Well, I don’t have any books to read at home, and I don’t know where the book store is!”

A recent New York Times article, The Families That Can’t Afford Summer, notes that nearly half of the academic disparity between lower and higher income students is attributable to differences in summer opportunities. Nearly half!

The antidote? “Much of that can be prevented by a summer learning program,” the article states.
At Hope Academy, we are so grateful for the opportunity to work with our students in reading, math, geography, and enrichment throughout the summer months. Not only do we get to help them build academic skills and combat summer slide – we also get to foster a love of God and of learning in the process.
Here’s another eavesdrop into second grade, where students become ‘number wizards’ by completing math work, to earn stars to put on their hats:
“Mr. Watkins, I don’t care about the stars on my wizard hat.”
“Oh really? You don’t care about learning?”
“Oh no, I really, really care about learning. I just don’t care about the stars on my wizard hat.”
Thank you for helping our students to become ‘math wizards’ – and more importantly, to grow their curiosity, faith, and wonder. Click to see the fruit of this in our most recent group of graduates, and the amazing things God has in store for their futures.
A special thanks to the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation for underwriting a significant portion of this year’s summer school.

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