For parents and their children looking for summer activities to keep them engaged and learning, looking beyond what the school or church offers can open up a world of opportunities, and the D.C.-based National Summer Learning Association has a database of thousands of options.
Its ‘Discover Summer’ website lists more than 30,000 summer learning programs, many of them free.
“We want them to be fun. We want them to be engaging. Not like traditional summer school, where it is mandatory and punitive and boring. If summer camp and summer school had a baby, you would end up with summer learning,” said Aaron Philip Dworkin, CEO of the National Summer Learning Association.
The database lists an incredibly wide range of summer programs for children of all ages.
“If you’re interested in sports, or arts, or a career or STEM, or community service, there are so many programs out there,” Dworkin said.
The ‘Discover Summer’ website is supported in part by the New York Life Foundation. It is in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education’s Engage Every Student Initiative.
The database is available in eight languages, and lists summer programs available in all 50 states. Hundreds of them are in the D.C. area.
“The D.C. area is blessed because it has so many cultural institutions. Whether it is one of the Smithsonian museums, or local colleges that are all running programs. Different federal agencies are running programs. NIH has summer programs for high school youth to learn how to be doctors,” Dworkin said.
The database is searchable by city, and currently lists almost 700 summer programs in the D.C. area, from U.S. foreign policy and video game design, to arts, cooking, gardening, sports, math, and even a ukulele camp.
The National Summer Learning Association partners with hundreds of well-known organizations, including the National PTA, National Recreation and Parks Association, YMCA Boys and Girls Club of America and Urban Libraries Council, as well as thousands of school districts, youth-serving government agencies, nonprofits and corporations.
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