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Press Releases
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Children's Defense Fund Freedom Schools™ Program to Receive
Johns Hopkins Award for Excellence in Summer Learning |
Washington, D.C. - The Children's Defense Fund's Freedom Schools, a literature-rich, summer program in 20 states and 30 cities around the country, will receive Johns Hopkins University's first Excellence in Summer Learning Award today, March 18, at 6:30 p.m. at the Radisson-Lord Baltimore Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland. The award, given by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Summer Learning, is designed to recognize individuals and organizations working to improve the quality and availability of summer learning opportunities for young people.
The Children's Defense Fund's (CDF) Freedom Schools™ program, which began in 1993, is modeled after the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project of 1964, which was a major political action program in which volunteers, working with community workers, conducted a variety of strategic activities aimed at securing basic democratic rights for Mississippi's black citizens. In addition to voter registration efforts, volunteers taught Black students for six to eight weeks during the summer using a curriculum that promoted equality, self-discovery, social justice, and community activism.
CDF took that model to create its own summer and after-school youth programs, using an Integrated Reading Curriculum that sets high expectations in learning for children and offers lesson plans and teaching techniques that help children improve their academic skills and boost their self-esteem. The curriculum features an outstanding selection of adolescent and children's literature, with special emphasis on books written by, or about, African Americans. Staffed by college-age interns, Freedom Schools create supportive and nurturing learning environments for children during the summer months.
"The Children's Defense Fund's Freedom Schools are designed to reach children where they are today," said Dr. Jeanne Middleton-Hairston, National Director of the CDF Freedom Schools™ program. "Our curriculum incorporates the latest research and most effective techniques for teaching children. We want to inspire and motivate them to want to read and learn, and to help them discover their own identities and unique gifts and talents. And we are honored that Johns Hopkins has chosen to honor us with its first Excellence in Summer Learning Award."
Middleton-Hairston, who will accept the award at the awards ceremony on behalf of CDF President and Founder, Marian Wright Edelman, said the broader impact of CDF's program is that, in addition to helping children, it creates the next generation of committed youth leaders and advocates for children. Last summer 64 Freedom Schools in 20 states and 30 cities served more than 5,000 elementary, middle, and high school students and their families nationwide, employing nearly 500 college interns. Sponsoring organizations for Freedom Schools include school districts, community development organizations, colleges and universities, churches, and other faith-based institutions.
The awards dinner is part of the 2004 Center for Summer Learning Conference, being held March 18-19 at the Radisson-Lord Baltimore Hotel. To learn more about the Conference and the Center for Summer Learning, contact Ronald Fairchild at 410-516-6221.
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More Information About Freedom Schools:
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The mission of the Children's Defense Fund is to Leave No Child Behind and to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. CDF provides a strong, effective voice for all the children of America who cannot vote, lobby, or speak for themselves. We pay particular attention to the needs of poor and minority children and those with disabilities. CDF educates the nation about the needs of children and encourages preventive investment before they get sick, into trouble, drop out of school, or suffer family breakdown. CDF began in 1973 and is a private, nonprofit organization supported by foundation and corporate grants and individual donations. We have never taken government funds. |
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