Princeton Chamber Of Commerce issued the following announcement on July 27.
NATIONAL SUMMER LEARNING ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES PRINCETON-BLAIRSTOWN CENTER AS WINNER OF THE 2018 NEW YORK LIFE EXCELLENCE IN SUMMER LEARNING FOUNDER’S AWARD
The Princeton-Blairstown Center (PBC) was awarded the prestigious New York Life Foundation Excellence in Summer Learning Founder’s Award which recognizes outstanding summer programs that demonstrate excellence in accelerating academic achievement and promoting healthy development for low-income children and youth between pre-kindergarten and twelfth grade. The program was cited for its attention to culture, excellence, use of nature, and outstanding staff.
Since 2004, the Excellence in Summer Learning Award program has been a critical strategy of the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) to support the growth and visibility of high-quality summer learning programs. Excellence Award winning programs are remarkable for their efforts to curb learning losses, particularly among low-income students who are disproportionately at risk for academically falling behind their higher-income peers during the summer. Winning programs demonstrate exemplary practices in overall programming, including professional development for program staff and collaboration with community partners in fulfilling shared goals for student and family engagement.PBC’s Summer Bridge Program is a one-week leadership development and academic enrichment program that is designed to serve approximately 600 low-income young people, free of charge, and help students lessen summer learning loss; build social-emotional skills like cooperation, communication, creativity, critical-thinking skills, and responsibility; and form positive, supportive relationships with peers and adults.
During the week-long program, students spend three hours a day engaged in hand-on Literacy, STEM, and project-based learning classes. They also spend several hours a day learning and practicing critical 21st century skills like communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. At the end of the week, students are able to take home a new or gently used book of their choice from our library to continue the learning back home.
President & CEO, Pam Gregory said, “It is a tremendous honor to have our Summer Bridge Program recognized on a national level, by an organization that promotes access to high-quality summer learning opportunities for low-income young people. It validates the work we have done over the past four years to provide exemplary, hands-on learning opportunities for youth that not only connects them to the outdoors, but also helps them understand that learning and inquiry can be fun.”
About the Princeton-Blairstown Center
The Princeton-Blairstown Center is an independent nonprofit with a mission to empower young people, primarily from under-resourced communities, to strengthen their social-emotional skills through experiential, environmental, and adventure-based programming. Social Emotional Learning (SEL) includes five core competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Our wide variety of year-round, multi-service programs serve nearly 8,000 participants each year.
About the National Summer Learning Association
The National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) is the only national nonprofit exclusively focused on closing the achievement gap by increasing access to high-quality summer learning opportunities. NSLA recognizes and disseminates what works in summer learning, develops and delivers community capacity-building offerings, and convenes and empowers key actors to embrace summer learning as a solution for equity and excellence in education. For more information, visit www.summerlearning.org.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Princeton Chamber Of Commerce
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