BELL Summer Program to Serve 3,200 Students in Five States

BOSTON, MA, Jul 06 (MARKET WIRE) --
As educators and parents strive to avoid summer learning loss and the
widening of the achievement gap for our nation's students, BELL(TM)
(Building Educated Leaders for Life(TM)) has begun its fourteenth year of
serving children through its nationally acclaimed program, BELL Summer.
Focusing on under-resourced communities in five states, the BELL Summer
program will bring an enriching summer learning experience to more than
3,200 students; returning to serve communities in Baltimore, Boston,
Detroit and New York City, and expanding to Charlotte and Flint and
Saginaw, Michigan.

According to the Johns Hopkins Center for Summer Learning, most students
lose an average of 2-3 months of academic skills during the summer. In a
recent interview, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan characterized
the effects of "summer learning loss" as "devastating" and
"well-documented." For low-income students, this backsliding is more
dramatic and is a significant contributor to the achievement gap, which,
according to a 2009 report by McKinsey and Company, represents a cost of
as much as $670 Billion to our nation's economy.

Given the impact of summer learning loss and the urgency to address it,
Secretary Duncan has stated, "We don't need more research [on the topic of
summer learning loss], we need to do something about it." He continues,
saying that enriching, academic summer programs are "one of the best
investments that [states and districts] can make."

The BELL Summer program, first introduced by BELL in 1996, is proof that
investments in summer learning can make a difference. According to BELL
pre- and post-test data using the Stanford Diagnostic reading test, the
BELL Summer program helps students, who BELL calls "scholars," reduce
their achievement gap in reading by an average of at least 50% during the
six-week program. Furthermore, a 2006 study by the Urban Institute found
statistically significant positive impacts on the children who attended
the BELL Summer program:

-- BELL scholars had higher reading comprehension and overall reading
scores, compared to students who attend the same number of school days.
-- Children's participation in BELL Summer increased the time they spent
on academic activities and the number of books they read by 50%, and
decreased their time spent watching television and playing computer games.
-- Evidence of positive impacts on the degree to which parents encouraged
their children to read and the degree to which they read with their
children.

The award-winning BELL Summer program increases children's knowledge
and mastery of the basic skills of reading, writing and math, raises their
self-esteem, empower parents, and supports effective mentoring
relationships between children and positive adult role models. The program
serves children in elementary and middle school, and includes academics
linked to state and national standards, enrichment courses, guest
speakers, field trips and community service projects. Once a week,
students participate in field trips, listen to guest speakers and
participate in community service projects. Programs in Michigan and
Charlotte began on June 29, and all other programs begin on July 6.

"The impact of enriching, academically focused summer programs have a
dramatic impact on students' future success in life," said Dr. Tiffany
Cooper Gueye. "Summer learning represents a tremendous opportunity for our
scholars to advance their academic goals. We are excited and proud to
partner with schools, government agencies, and corporate and foundation
supporters to bring BELL Summer to our communities for the fourteenth
year."

BELL has received national acclaim when BELL Summer was cited as a model
program in President Obama's 2005 "STEP-UP" legislation for summer
learning programs. The legislation cites BELL Summer as a program proven
to remedy, reinforce and accelerate learning while helping to close the
achievement gap in education.

About BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life):

BELL, founded in 1992, is one of the nation's leading providers of quality
afterschool and summer educational programs. It is committed to enhancing
the educational achievements, self-esteem and life opportunities of
children living in under-resourced communities. BELL serves more than
11,000 children annually in schools throughout Baltimore, Boston,
Charlotte, Detroit, Flint (Mich.), New York City and Saginaw (Mich.).
Please visit www.bellnational.org for more information.

Contact:
Collin Earnst
617-933-9011
Email Contact

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