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Press Releases
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Children's Defense Fund Commemorates 40th Anniversary of
Freedom Summer at National Training in Tennessee June 213
500 Young Adults Train to Staff CDF Freedom Schools™ Program |
Washington, D.C. The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) conducts their annual CDF Freedom Schools™ National Training, June 213, at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and at CDF's Haley Farm in Clinton, Tennessee. Five hundred college-age interns who will staff 61 Freedom Schools sites around the country, serving 4,700 children this summer, will participate in the training program.
"This summer marks the 40th Anniversary of Freedom Summer in Mississippi, a collaborative effort that helped break down the walls of segregation that had systematically denied opportunities to African Americans," said Marian Wright Edelman, President and Founder of CDF. "At the forefront were Freedom Schools, which brought young adults from across the country to Mississippi to promote equality, self-discovery, learning, social justice and community activism to African American children. America has made much progress since that summer of change, but many challenges remain. Too many poor and ethnic minority children are still in inferior public schools and suffer in many other ways. The Children's Defense Fund Freedom Schools are a bridge to a brighter future where educational gaps narrow, families are strengthened, and the next generation of committed community activists is created to ensure that no child is left behind."
Modeled after the 1964 Freedom Schools—which were established as part of the voter registration and community mobilization effort during the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project of 1964—today's CDF Freedom Schools program aims to provide summer options for children where there are none and to strengthen parent and community involvement in the year-round achievement of all children, and particularly African American and other minority children. The schools serve children ages 5 to 18 for six to eight weeks and integrate reading, conflict resolution, and social action in an activity-based curriculum that promotes social, cultural, and historical awareness. Parents and community leaders benefit from workshops designed to promote social action and greater awareness of children's needs. A key goal of the CDF Freedom Schools program is leadership development; that is, identifying, training, linking, and nurturing a successor generation of servant-leaders. Freedom Schools are staffed primarily by college-age young adults, or servant-leaders, who are committed to making life better for children.
In 1992, the CDF Freedom Schools program began in Bennettsville, South Carolina. Twelve years later the program has grown substantially and is now located in 30 cities and 20 states around the country. In March of 2004, Johns Hopkins University's Center for Summer Learning presented the CDF Freedom Schools program with the first Excellence in Summer Learning Award. The award is designed to recognize individuals and organizations working to improve the quality and availability of summer learning opportunities for young people.
The CDF Freedom Schools program is a partnership between CDF's Black Community Crusade for Children (BCCC) and local community-based organizations, churches, public schools, and colleges and universities that provides literacy-rich summer programs in communities where those opportunities are limited or nonexistent. Coordinated nationally by CDF, the BCCC is a massive effort to mobilize the African American community on behalf of Black children and families. The BCCC's mission is to ensure that no child is left behind and that every child has a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life. CDF Freedom Schools incorporate elements of each of these five "starts" into their comprehensive summer program.
"This summer's training is an important milestone in the life of CDF Freedom Schools," said Dr. Jeanne Middleton-Hairston, National Director of the CDF Freedom Schools program. "As the CDF Freedom Schools program enters its second decade, it is important to reflect on the program's origin and the individuals on whose shoulders we stand today. As we prepare to serve in Freedom Schools 2004, we pause to honor the sacrifices made during 1964 and are further empowered to make a difference in the lives of current and successive generations of American children."
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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. |
Overview of CDF Freedom Schools™ Program