With all due respect to George Gershwin, one thing that isn’t so easy about summertime:  ensuring kids have good learning opportunities.

According to America after 3 PM: Special Report on Summer: Missed Opportunities, Unmet Demand, an Afterschool Alliance report sponsored by The Wallace Foundation and JC Penney:

• Only 25% of U. S. school-age children (an estimated 14.3 million children) participate in summer learning programs.
• Based on parent interest in enrolling their child in a summer learning program, 56 percent of all non-participating children (an estimated 24 million children) would likely enroll in summer learning programs.
• Low-income and ethnic minority children are more likely to attend summer learning programs than other children, but the unmet demand among low-income and minority families are also greatest.
• By an overwhelming margin, parents support public funding for summer learning programs, with the strongest level of support coming from low-income and ethnic minority parents.

So what can funders do to improve summer learning opportunities–which in turn can improve educational outcomes for kids? We’re glad you asked.

Data Briefing: The National Summer Learning Association and the Afterschool Alliance presented a data briefing examining the report’s findings on Monday, June 7, 2010. Look for archived highlights soon.

Summer Learning Day June 21: The National Summer Learning Association presents 2010 Summer Learning Day on June 21, 2010. Please share this opportunity to spotlight media and policymaker attention on the importance of summer learning with your grantees.  Click on http://www.summerlearning.org/?page=summer_learning_day to learn more.

Target Summer Learning Website: Target is partnering with the Search Institute to offer a summer-long series of tips on Facebook that help parents keep their kids active and engaged while the weather’s warm. Target’s new parent resource tab, will provide new tips throughout the summer with specific themes, like “Take a History Lesson” or “Library Love”.  View the new Play + Learn tab on the Target Facebook page to explore the new site and learn more.

Conference: The National Summer Learning Association: Summer Changes Everything Conference, Tuesday, November 09-Wednesday November 10, 2010, Indianapolis
§   Sponsored by the Lilly Endowment and the Indianapolis Summer Youth Program Fund, a funding collaborative that provides grants, coordinates professional development opportunities, and disseminates community information to support summer programs serving Marion County youth.  Sessions in the Policy and Funding for Systems Building track will offer case studies and examples of policy, funding strategies, and community-wide initiatives that support, broaden access to, and increase youth participation in summer learning opportunities.  To register, go to: http://www.summerlearning.org/?page=conference

If you’ve got other opportunities/strategies funders can leverage to increase summer learning opportunities, post ‘em here.