Education

Summer Care

Summer learning

Summer Care 20th Year

After addressing summer learning loss in Pinellas and Hillsborough since 2005, United Way Suncoast’s Summer Care Program now celebrates its 20th year by extending to all five counties in the UWS footprint. Children attend one of our carefully selected summer camps in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, or DeSoto counties. Summer Care’s objectives are:

To address summer learning loss disparities of ALICE children
To provide accessible, no-cost, enriching summer camps/childcare during the summer for ALICE families
To provide reading support during the summer camps/childcare
To provide financial resources to the parents/caregivers

Every child at participating summer camps receives a Summer Bridge Activity book. This award-winning curriculum reinforces basic skills and prepares children for the next school year.

This past summer, UWS partnered with 13 partners at 27 sites across Hillsborough and Pinellas counties and invested $450,000 in youth scholarships.

It's Another United Way Wednesday at Jeni's

To celebrate the success of our Summer Learning initiatives and generate needed support, we’re inviting everyone to come out to one of the three Jeni’s Ice Creams locations in Tampa Bay: The Pearl, Sparkman Wharf in Tampa and University Town Centre in Sarasota. There will be activities for the kids, and 25% of the proceeds during the ice cream happy hour will be donated to United Way Suncoast.

Hey parents, if you’re looking for resources to keep your kids on track while they’re off from school, click on the button above to access an array of helpful tools. Studies show that the “summer slide,” as we refer to it in education circles, can result in students suffering significant declines: 17 to 28 percent in reading and 25 to 34 percent in math. Help reverse that trend, and remember, the summer slide is not a ride at Adventure Island.

Summer Care Data

children received daily academic activities with the Summer Bridge Book curriculum. Pre- and post-test scores across all grades and sites showed that 87% of students maintained or grew their academic skills.

children received scholarships to high-quality summer programs.

caregivers whose children attended Summer Care received financial education resources.

Students spent a collective 24,180 hours working in Bridge Books and an additional 6,336 hours working with tutors.

children received the support of a tutor during the summer, with 91% of students with a pre/post assessment increasing their literacy skills and 97% maintaining or growing over the summer.