For Immediate Release

Contact: Laura Johnson: 410-300-6468, ljohnson@summerlearning.org
Talon Sachs: 410-856-1370 x210, tsachs@summerlearning.org

National and Local Youth Advocates to Gather for National Conference on Summer Learning in Atlanta, Georgia from October 21-23

BALTIMORE (October 16, 2019) — More than 500 educators, researchers and funders from Georgia and around the country will join “America’s Educator” Dr. Steve Perry, NBA Legend Dikembe Mutombo and other summer learning champions in Atlanta on October 21 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta for the National Summer Learning Association’s (NSLA) annual Summer Changes Everything national conference to discuss the impact and need for high-quality summer learning opportunities for all children to grow and thrive, particularly the nation’s most vulnerable students.

Summer Changes Everything is only event exclusively devoted to summer learning quality practices, policy and research. As such, NSLA’s national conference aims to elevate the essential role that summer and afterschool programs have in closing the achievement and opportunity gaps that often emerge at birth for millions of children. Conference attendees can expect a robust schedule of events and networking opportunities offer innovative and scalable strategies to meet the academic, health and well-being needs of all children during the critical summer months.

WHAT:           NSLA’s Summer Changes Everything National Conference

WHEN:           October 21-23, 2019

WHERE:        Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center, 100 CNN Center NW, Atlanta, GA 30303

HIGHLIGHTS:        

Monday, October 21:

• Community Town Hall and release of Atlanta Summer Learning Community Landscape Report

Tuesday, October 22:

• Opening plenary featuring national awards for excellence in summer learning, presented by the New York Life Foundation, a keynote address and book signing with Steve Perry, Daytime TV host, founder of Capital Preparatory Schools
• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Session discussing the findings from its new report, “Opportunities to Shape Summertime Experiences: Findings from the National Academies Report”
• RoadTrip Nation Documentary Film Screening, Beating the Odds sponsored by ACT

Wednesday, October 23:

• Closing plenary: The Power of Sports to Uplift Youth and Communities, sponsored by NBA, with NBA Legend Dikembe Motumbo, Ed Foster-Simeon, President & CEO of the U.S. Soccer Foundation, Pharlone Charity Toussaint, Atlanta Program Officer, Laureus Sport for Good Foundation USA, and Andrea K. Carter, Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility, Atlanta Hawks

To attend the conference, request interviews, and more information, please contact Laura Johnson at 410-300-6468 or ljohnson@summerlearning.org.

About the National Summer Learning Association

The National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) is the only national nonprofit exclusively focused on closing the achievement gap by increasing access to high-quality summer learning opportunities. NSLA recognizes and disseminates what works in summer learning, develops and delivers community capacity-building offerings and convenes and empowers key actors to embrace summer learning as a solution for equity and excellence in education. For more information, visit www.summerlearning.org.

“America’s Educator,” Dr. Steve Perry and NBA Legend Dikembe Mutombo to Headline National Conference on Summer Learning –
A Solution to Helping Every Student Succeed

BALTIMORE (September 30, 2019) — When communities harness the power of summer learning, all children can grow and thrive, particularly the nation’s most vulnerable students. This is the critical conversation more than 500 education leaders will explore as part of the National Summer Learning Association’s (NSLA) annual Summer Changes Everything national conference, October 21-23, 2019 at the Omni Hotel, CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. For registration details, visit www.summerlearning.org/national-conference.

“Our field is evolving rapidly to keep pace with the diverse needs of children across the country. We hope the learnings from this conference will build on the progress we’ve made toward leveraging summer as a time of great opportunity, innovation and collaboration in education. Summertime provides a real chance for all children to improve their health, academics, social emotional learning, and career skills,” said Aaron Philip Dworkin, CEO of NSLA.

An influential lineup of notable education and youth advocates will take center stage as featured speakers. Dr. Steve Perry, one of America’s most sought-after educators and CNN Education Contributor, will keynote the opening plenary on Tuesday, October 22, and NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo will share his humanitarian work to improve outcomes for children at the closing plenary on Wednesday, October 23 with Reggie Love, personal aide to former President Barack Obama.

Other featured speakers include: Karl Alexander PhD, renowned summer learning researcher, sociologist and author; Elizabeth Fowlkes, Senior Vice President, Youth Development, Boys & Girls Clubs of America; Jason D. King, Senior Vice President, Clear Channel Outdoor; Milton Little, Jr., President of the United Way of Greater Atlanta; Dax-Devlon Ross, equity expert, journalist and author of Beat of a Different Drum; and Lorna Smith, CEO of Horizons National.

As the foremost authority on summer learning quality practices, policy and research, NSLA’s national conference aims to elevate the essential role that summer and afterschool programs have in closing the achievement and opportunity gaps that often emerge at birth for millions of children. Bringing together stakeholders from across the country, NSLA aims to advance its 25-year summer learning movement to the forefront of education improvement efforts and to maximize the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

ESSA includes provisions that help ensure success for students and schools while upholding critical protections for America’s disadvantaged and high-need students. The law offers new opportunities for states to build on partnerships and proven strategies such as summer learning and afterschool programs.

Additionally, a new summer report, to be presented at conference by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, lays out nine recommendations to address obstacles that disadvantaged children can face during the summer, including lack of access to quality programs, food insecurity, and exposure to unsafe and dangerous conditions, and to help all children develop positively and stay connected to resources.

“We know when students don’t read and learn over the summer months, they can lose academic ground – but we can see this as a challenge, or we can view it as an opportunity,” Georgia State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “Here in Georgia, we’ve made it a priority to reach all students over the summer months and ensure they have chances to read, learn, and grow. We’re looking forward to a conference that will spark new ideas and collaborations for those who share that same goal.”

A robust schedule of events and networking opportunities offer attendees innovative and scalable strategies to meet the academic and well-being needs of children during the critical summer months. Highlights include:

• A Town Hall on the state of summer learning and the release of a Greater Atlanta Summer Learning Community Landscape Report;
• Pre-Conference Training Institutes for Librarians, STEM (STEAM) providers and School Districts – a boot camp for shaping quality summer programs;
• Screening of “Roadtrip Nation: Beating the Odds,” a documentary made possible with the support of the college readiness experts at ACT’s Center for Equity in Learning, featuring inspiring advice from former First Lady Michelle Obama and other leaders who overcame unbelievable obstacles to succeed to and through college; and
• An awards ceremony honoring winners of the 2019 New York Life Foundation’s Excellence in Summer Learning Award and the inaugural Lands’ End Love Learning Award.

With the right opportunities, trained staff and sufficient community funding, summer can be a time for all children – regardless of ZIP code – to enjoy new experiences, learn in different, hands-on ways and prepare for success in the school year ahead. At the policy, level attendees will receive the most current updates on state and federal legislation related to summer learning, such as the Summer Meals and Learning Act. This recent legislation proposes creating a federal grant program to keep the libraries of schools that offer free summer meals open.

“Promoting education and supporting children is a social responsibility we take very seriously,” said Jack Jessen, regional president of Clear Channel Outdoor Northeast and corporate co-chair. “We are proud to serve as the corporate chair of this conference and partner with the National Summer Learning Association and help raise awareness on the potential of summers to improve outcomes for all the children who live in our communities.”

NSLA’s Summer Changes Everything is co-hosted by the Georgia Statewide Afterschool Network and United Way of Greater Atlanta. The conference is supported, in part, by the following partners: ACT, Aflac, Clear Channel Outdoor, Community Foundation of Atlanta, Demco, Georgia Public Broadcasting, InPlay, Jr. NBA, Kids Read Now, New York Life Foundation, Random House, The Wallace Foundation, and Youth Today.

About the National Summer Learning Association
The National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) is the only national nonprofit exclusively focused on closing the achievement gap by increasing access to high-quality summer learning opportunities. NSLA recognizes and disseminates what works in summer learning, develops and delivers community capacity-building offerings and convenes and empowers key actors to embrace summer learning as a solution for equity and excellence in education. For more information, visit www.summerlearning.org.

Kansas City, MO to serve as host city to nearly 1,000 out-of-school time leaders committed to summer learning as a solution to closing the achievement and opportunity gap in America

(Baltimore, MD – August 28, 2018) – “How was summer break?” That’s the question teachers across the country often ask at the start of a new school year. Depending on a child’s zip code, these answers will vary, as not all summers are created equal. Decades of research, tracked and curated by the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA), reveals that summer learning loss constitutes a most significant, if largely unrecognized, threat to academic achievement in America. It is primarily during the summer months that tens of millions of American children go backwards academically, causing the achievement gap between rich and poor to increase dramatically. Recent research, however, shows that high-quality summer learning programs maintain and advance students’ academic and social growth, keep children safe and healthy, and send students back to school ready to learn.

With this as a backdrop, NSLA takes its national conference, Summer Changes Everything, to The Heart of America – Kansas City, MO, November 12-14, 2018 and is pleased to announce Hill Harper as its keynote speaker.

Hill Harper is an award-winning actor, author, and Founder of the Manifest Your Destiny Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to helping underserved youth succeed through education, mentorship, and grant programs. Hill Harper currently stars as Dr. Marcus Andrews on TV’s #1 new drama, The Good Doctor on ABC, and is a four-time New York Times best-selling author.

Harper will be joined by a who’s who of speakers and industry influencers, including Maxine Clark, creator of the Blueprint4Summer app and Founder of Build-A-Bear Workshop®, scientist and Miss USA 2017 – Kara McCullough, along with Miss Teen USA 2017, Sophia Dominguez-Heithoff of Kansas City – individuals all committed to education and expanded access to summer learning opportunities.

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