DEEL Partners with Community Based Organizations for Summer Programs Serving K 12 Youth of Color

Seventeen partners received up to $80,000 to provide free summer learning opportunities serving Seattle school-aged youth in July and August this year

SEATTLE (July 17) - Celebrated from July 15 to 19, National Summer Learning Week is an opportunity to elevate the work of community-based partner organizations that serve Seattle youth through high-quality programs that produce measurable benefits in the areas of college and career readiness and social emotional learning. This year, seventeen community-based organizations are providing summer programming in July and August, serving over 1,000 Seattle students with funding awarded by the Seattle Department of Education & Early Learning (DEEL).

Supported by a $1 million Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise (FEPP) Levy investment, programs primarily serve students within the FEPP Levy focus populations, including students of color, youth from immigrant and refugee backgrounds, and those not yet meeting grade-level standards. Award amounts range from $50,000 to $80,000 per grantee.

Research reveals that many students have experienced significant disruptions to academic learning and adverse social and mental health effects post-pandemic. For students who are furthest from educational justice, limited and inconsistent access to programs and services has compounded existing inequities. DEEL is committed to advancing educational equity through access to summer programs for those youth most heavily impacted. This funding opportunity is designed to provide summer awards that support summer programs for Seattle K-12 students through three focus areas: Academic Learning, Social Emotional Learning & Enrichment, and College and Career Readiness. 

Summer Engagement for School-Year Success

Summer programs can enhance understanding of core content, reduce learning loss between school breaks, and encourage healthy social and emotional development. The unique array of summer programs offered by community-based organization (CBO) partners creates opportunities for local youth to cultivate relationships with peers, deepen academic skills, engage in authentic self-expression, and further their understanding of college or career options.

First-time grantee the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle (ULMS) offers programming rooted in a strong history of local civil rights engagement and support for African Americans and other diverse communities. ULMS' Summer University program offers a variety of programming for high school youth via 3 tracks: High School 101 for rising freshmen, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) for rising sophomores and juniors, and College and Career Readiness for rising juniors and seniors.

"Summer University is our opportunity to spark the curiosity of our young people. Since 2016, hundreds of Seattle Public School high school students have enhanced their skills and experience in tech, arts, culture and beyond. They also have the opportunity to meet their peers from other schools in a college-like atmosphere and visit some of our top universities and corporations to see people that look like them in various roles sparking their own interests about the future and their role in it. Thanks to the support of Mayor Harrell and the Department of Education and Early Learning, we are able to continue Summer U and pour into the lives of our future generations!"

- Michelle Merriweather, Executive Director of ULMS, elaborating on the impact of sustaining investments in summer learning opportunities for local scholars

Youth Voice on Summer Choice

Past ULMS Summer University scholars commented on what it means for youth of color to access the opportunities that the program features. Alexis M. is a freshman on a full tuition scholarship at Yale University. In her view, Summer University is important because, "The standards for students of color are definitely not always the same as white students. It's just leveling the playing field, just a little bit, in getting us ahead when it comes to college essays; in getting us ahead when it comes to scholarships."

Summer University outreach video from the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle (ULMS).

Over 975 youth participated in DEEL-funded summer learning programs in 2023, operated by sixteen community partners. Among participants surveyed about their experiences, 94% agreed that they enjoyed their summer program, and 87% expressed that their summer program helped them feel more prepared for school in the fall. Student confidence levels were high in terms of knowledge about college and career readiness, with over 80% of those surveyed expressing positive identification in the development of 21^st century skills, such as collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking.

Survey responses also indicate that participating students agree widely that their programs are safe and welcoming places for people of all races and cultural backgrounds, that adults in their programs care about them, that they can be themselves in their programs, and that adults in their programs share their cultural backgrounds.

Summer Learning Programs Awardees

DEEL received 57 eligible applications totaling more than $3.9 million in requested funds. DEEL acknowledges that student needs and applicant requests far exceed available funding, and recognizes the effort made of all applicants not recommended for funding in crafting their individual proposals.

The following list includes a description of funded organizations and program proposals for summer 2024. Each program serves a range of students from the FEPP Levy focus populations:

• Atlantic Street Center (Council District (CD) 2) · $80,000: Summer Academy provides low to very low and no-income BIPOC third- through ninth-graders instruction in reading, writing, and math, paired with a holistic approach to social skill building and cultural enrichment activities. Their program model includes access to nutritious meals and counseling to respond to needs identified by youth, community, and school partners.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of King County (CD 2) · $80,000: The Work, Learn & Earn program serving sixth- through eighth-grade students of color provides participants with project-based learning featuring experiments, real-life application, and culturally relevant and recognizable instruction that utilizes hands-on activities and experiences. In addition to academic enrichment, students engage in youth-led healing circles that support reflection on student attitude, approach and growth in their academic and social-emotional development.    
• East African Community Services** (CD 2) · $80,000: Serving elementary and middle school-aged youth from refugee and immigrant families, the Educating the Horn summer program is designed to give students plenty of exercise, enrichment and fun while closing achievement gaps and preventing summer learning loss in literacy, math and science. The goal of these offerings is to prepare students for their transition to the next grade while exposing them to a wide range of activities and interests.
• Eritrean Association in Greater Seattle (CD 2) · $53,000: Organization will host an eight-week summer program serving K-12 students who identify as immigrant, English language learners, refugee and belong to Seattle's Eritrean community. The program is focused on social emotional learning enrichment and academic learning.
• Kandelia** (CD 1,2,3,4,5,6,7) · $80,000: The Summer Academy serves ninth- through 12^th-grade immigrant and refugee students enrolled at Seattle World School. The program will offer a positive learning and instruction environment to increase English language proficiency, decrease summer learning loss, provide credit retrieval opportunities, and increase physical and social-emotional health.   
• Multimedia Resource & Training Institute (MMRTI) (CD 2,5,7) · $80,000: MMRTI 2024 Summer Young Media Makers Program will create an environment where historically under-represented and underserved students in elementary, middle and high school learn how to use various forms of technology, work collaboratively as a team, explore their expressive "voice" thru photography, digital storytelling and video in the form of documentary production.   
• OneWorld Now!** (CD 1,2,3,4,5) · $50,000: The Summer World Languages Program serves predominantly BIPOC 6^th- through 12^th-grade students who will earn a full world-language credit in support of on-time graduation, also providing half of the world language credits required for college admissions. Students may choose to study Arabic, Chinese, or Korean while participating in cultural activities. This program expands opportunities for post-secondary education and workforce preparation.
• Refugee Women's Alliance (ReWA)(CD 2) · $80,000: Kindergarten through eighth-grade students from refugee and immigrant backgrounds will receive culturally responsive STEAM curriculum and social-emotional supports to recognize their worth during a challenging time of transition in their lives.   
• SafeFutures Youth Center*(CD 1) · $76,677: This BIPOC-led non-profit allows middle and high school students to access culturally relevant youth development, diversion, academic, employment and career-readiness programs. Their summer curriculum includes skill-building exercises that reduce summer learning loss, prepare students for the transition into the upcoming school year or career path, and expose youth to new educational possibilities they might otherwise not have known existed.
• School Connect WA** (CD 2,6) · $55,705: Underserved BIPOC youth in South Seattle from grades K through 8 participate in the Summer Joy Academy, which offers daily academic intervention in literacy and math, recreational time and enrichment including music lessons, arts, cooking and STEM projects.
• Seattle Parks & Recreation at Aki Kurose (CD 2) · $74,000: In partnership with Aki Kurose Middle School, the Summer Bridge Program will support 8^th grade students from Aki and Mercer MS and work directly with the Cleveland HS summer team This joint program utilizes a mix of enrichment, academic interventions, college and career readiness, culturally responsive mentoring, recreation and sports opportunities to provide a strong, formalized and aligned approach to supporting exiting 8^th grade students as they transition into their next level of education.
• Seattle Parks & Recreation at Denny Middle School(CD 1) · $50,000: Seattle Parks and Recreation will partner with Denny Middle School Westside Scholars Academy to provide the home base for one of five SPR Community Learning Centers and help facilitate morning academics and the afternoon enrichment portion of summer school that will focus on youth's social emotional development, academic learning, and college and career readiness.
• South End Stories** (CD 1,2,3,4,5,6,7) · $80,000: This Black-led arts education program serves students, families and educators throughout Seattle, igniting joy and justice in classrooms and communities using arts-based learning, anti-racist education and social activism. South End Stories will offer Summer High School Theater and Plug and Play. Both programs will offer daily activities that create spaces for students to build 21^st-Century and English Language Arts skills through creative Project-Based Learning that gives students opportunities to share their stories, cultures and perspectives.    
• Team Read (CD 1,2,3,7) · $60,000: will coordinate a five-week literacy-based summer program along with enrichment activities to provide full day programming for elementary-age students with 8^th-12^th graders serving as their reading coaches and mentors.
• The Good Foot Arts Collective** (CD 2) · $80,000: The Power UP! Summer Learning program targets incoming 9^th grade scholars and focuses on social-emotional learning and enrichment, academic learning, physical and mental health, and 21^st century skills through college and career readiness, preparing youth for the transition to high school. Power UP! engages youth through self-expression, cultural identity, Hip Hop arts and culture for young people to creatively express themselves and to create safe spaces to educate others about violence prevention.    
• Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle* (CD 3) · $75,000: Summer University program by Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle offers a variety of programming for high school youth via 3 tracks: High School 101 for rising freshmen; STEM for rising sophomores and juniors; and CCR for rising juniors and seniors. Other sessions include Youth and Government, and Business Practicum.
• WA-BLOC** (CD 2) · $80,000: Freedom Schools Program is a literacy-based summer program for youth in grades K through 5 that disrupts deficit-based approaches and counters summer learning loss by providing high-impact literacy instruction and engagement over the summer through culturally responsive books and instruction by young adult leaders who reflected the community.   

*First-time recipient of DEEL funding.
**Existing recipient of DEEL funding.

Programs are happening in July and August and are free for students served by the grant. 

The City of Seattle Department of Education and Early Learning's mission is to transform the lives of Seattle children, youth, and families through strategic investments in education. www.seattle.gov/education

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