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BOSTON STUDENTS LEAD NATION, MAKE FURTHER GAINS IN 5TH QUARTER SUMMER PROGRAMS

BOSTON -- Thursday, October 10, 2024 --  Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, Superintendent Mary Skipper, and National Summer Learning Association CEO Aaron Dworkin joined Boston After School & Beyond and more than 200 community leaders gathered to release a report on the summer of 2024 5th Quarter of Learning, which transforms the city into a classroom for thousands of students.

An estimated 43% of Boston school-aged youth participated in an organized academic, enrichment, and jobs program for low-income students, according to Boston Beyond. This compares to 37% of low-income youth in a recent Gallup poll, sponsored by the National Summer Learning Association and the American Camp Association. 

"Here in Massachusetts, education is our calling card and we know that learning doesn't stop once the school year ends," said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. "The summer months provide a chance for students to combine academics and enrichment so that they can gain developmental and social skills outside of school. Our administration is proud to support these programs."

Boston Beyond detailed the experiences and outcomes of 16,700 students in 235 programs, which provides academics and enrichment as part of the 5th Quarter of Learning. A collaboration among the City of Boston, Boston Public Schools and Boston Beyond, the 5th Quarter embeds academics in enrichment to help prevent summer learning loss and equip students with college and career readiness skills.

The report, "The 5th Quarter: Making the Community a Classroom," shows that students attended at a rate of 86.2% and made significant gains in critical thinking, teamwork, communication, relationships, and perseverance. Programs, based on third-party observations and youth surveys, showed improvement in offering engaging, stimulating activities. 

"The academic and social-emotional gains our students have made this summer by participating in 5th Quarter programs are a testament to the power of our collaboration with Boston After School & Beyond and the City of Boston," said Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper. "By turning the entire city into a classroom and providing programs that interest students, we're not only preventing summer learning loss but also nurturing critical skills like teamwork, communication, and perseverance. These programs are transforming education and setting our young people on the path to success in college, careers, and beyond. We're proud to lead the nation in this effort and look forward to expanding these educational and fun opportunities even further."

The diverse network of programs, which are located across every neighborhood of the city, as well as at camps outside of the city, offer students from pre-K through high school enriching activities tailored to their interests, leading to hands-on learning and increased engagement.

Through a survey at the beginning of the summer, a subset of students revealed continuing social and emotional needs in areas such as assertiveness, learning interests and relationships with adults, a trend that began during the pandemic. At the end of their summer programming, the data demonstrates that students made strides in relationship building and strengthened key social and emotional skills.

"The high participation rates indicate that programs are offering young people what they want," said Boston After School & Beyond Executive Director Chris Smith. "We need to continue working together so that all young people have access to these programs in the future."

Since its start in 2010, the number of students and programs involved in The 5th Quarter of Learning has grown substantially with investments from the Boston Public Schools, which has revamped summer school into a more enriching set of activities. Additionally, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. DESE provided Boston Beyond $1 million to disseminate to more than 60 summer programs in 2024.

"Boston's success has proved to be an inspiration to other cities across the country," said National Summer Learning Association CEO Aaron Dworkin. "They are showing what’s possible when leaders from city and state governments collaborate with the nonprofit sector."

Boston Beyond is assisting the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership and the City of Philadelphia in designing and measuring their 5th Quarter of Learning programs. 

For a full list of 5th Quarter programs across the city, please visit Boston Beyond's Summer 2024 webpage.

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