50 Bronx charter schools participate in Summer Boost Program
Students from 50 Bronx charter schools participate in the Summer Boost Program, which offers academic and extracurricular activities for first- through ninth-grade students.
More Stories
The Summer Boost Program, a national initiative supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, is a way for first- through ninth-grade charter students to receive high-quality instruction and engage in activities they wouldn't normally see during the school year.
News 12 visited the South Bronx Early College Academy in Longwood to see the program in action. School staff say it's a great way to continue academic progress that may otherwise be lost during a summer learning hiatus.
"There's a well-known thing called summer learning loss, where students learn a lot during the school year and then they fall a little bit further behind over the summer. If they're not doing things that are either academic or intellectual, if they're not reading, writing and doing some math. So we hope this program really keeps kids caught up, avoid summer learning loss, but also they enjoy it," said David Krulwich, the principal at South Bronx Early College Academy.
Krulwich told News 12 the summer program involves more trips and extra curricular activities than the school year curriculum offers. He said it's a nice way for students to get to know each other beyond the classroom, which can lead to stronger school communities.
Students take reading and math classes, as well as cooking, art, dance, basketball classes and more. They also learn how to build their own tents before taking them on an overnight camping trip.
The South Bronx Early College Academy is in its fourth year of the Summer Boost program, which more than half of its student body participates in.
