June 14, 2006

Press Release                                                                        FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:           Michele J. Friedman
                        212-529-5113, Ext. 233

TRAIL BLAZERS HOSTS SUMMER LEARNING DAY CELEBERATION

Event links Children and Community Leaders to National Effort to Support Summer Learning Programs

Sussex Country, NJ – On July 13, 2006, parents, businesses, and community leaders will gather at Trail Blazers Camp in Montague, NJ, to celebrate the fourth annual National Summer Learning Day.

Earlier this year, Trail Blazers was awarded the prestigious Excellence in Summer Learning Award from the Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University. Each year the Center for Summer Learning recognizes outstanding summer programs that demonstrate excellence in accelerating academic achievement and promoting positive development for young people.

On July 13, Trail Blazers will join a wide array of public agencies, nonprofit organizations, schools, universities, museums, libraries, and summer camps across the nation to celebrate Summer Learning Day in order to raise awareness about the importance of high-quality summer learning opportunities in the lives of young people and their families. The Day also recognizes the critical role that summer programs play in sending young people back to school ready to learn and keeping children safe and healthy throughout the summer months. We are asking you to join this nationwide effort and support Trail Blazers by recognizing the value summer education programs have for participating youth and families.

Recent studies show that all children lose over two months of mathematical computation skills over the summer months. Furthermore, low-income children experience much greater summer learning losses in reading than their higher-income peers, contributing to the growth of the achievement gap. For example, by the end of fifth grade, low-income children fall more than two years behind their middle-income peers in verbal achievement as a direct result of summer learning differences. In addition to having an adverse impact on learning, summer vacation also has negative effects on the health and nutrition of many young people. On average, only one in five children across the country who receive free and low-cost school lunches participate in federal nutrition programs during the summer. 

The program agenda for this day will include:

2:00 p.m.          Welcome and opening remarks

2:45–4:00         Site tour

4:00                 Q&A

4:30                 Closing remarks

All press inquires and questions regarding directions to the event should be directed to Michele Friedman, Event Coordinator, at 212-529-5113, Ext. 233 before Friday, July 7, 2006.