SummerCollab, the Wilmington-based nonprofit that helps over 2,000 (and counting) low-income students across Delaware narrow the summer opportunity gap, will be traveling to Phoenix this month to accept the National Summer Learning Association’s (NSLA) Founders Award for Excellence in Summer Learning.
The NSLA Founder’s award is a national award recognizes drop-in program models that work with existing infrastructure (i.e. community agencies) to reverse summer learning loss for the most underserved communities. SummerCollab beat out eight finalists and 500 applicants this year.
“National recognition is huge for us,” said Catherine Lindroth, executive director of SummerCollab, which is based out of 1313 Innovation. “We’re making a difference, but it sometimes feels like nobody’s even heard of us.”
SummerCollab’s data shows that the program is successful in learning retention, with 86 percent demonstrating growth at an average rate of three months. A quarter of the participants demonstrated a full year of growth in the program. Currently, the program is working with the Red Clay School District to identify high-needs students as they prepare for the 2018 summer.
The award, announced in July, will be presented at the 2017 Summer Changes Everything Conference Oct. 23–25.
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