While children of means easily find enriching summer programs to tap into, disadvantaged youth often go begging for the same quality, “out-of-school-time” activities ? and this deficiency, research indicates, hurts them academically.

“A key part of our work is raising awareness of the impact of summer on the achievement gap and promoting best practices and proven strategies for helping close that gap … during a time of year when a lot of resources are shut off for kids,” said Ron Fairchild, executive director of the Center for Summer Learning of Johns Hopkins University.