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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 607 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 607

    Designating July 10, 2008, as ``National Summer Learning Day''.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              July 7, 2008

   Ms. Mikulski (for herself, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Obama, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. 
  Rockefeller, Mr. Cardin, and Mr. Feingold) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
    Designating July 10, 2008, as ``National Summer Learning Day''.

Whereas all students experience a measurable loss of mathematics and reading 
        skills when they do not engage in educational activities during the 
        summer months;
Whereas summer learning loss is greatest for low-income children, who often lack 
        the academic enrichment opportunities available to their more affluent 
        peers;
Whereas recent research indicates that \2/3\ of the achievement gap between low-
        income children and their more affluent peers can be explained by 
        unequal access to summer learning opportunities, which results in low-
        income youth being less likely to graduate from high school or enter 
        college;
Whereas recent surveys indicate that low-income parents have considerable 
        difficulty finding available summer opportunities for their children;
Whereas structured enrichment and education programs are proven to accelerate 
        learning for students who participate in such programs for several weeks 
        during the summer;
Whereas students who participate in the Building Educated Leaders for Life 
        (``BELL'') summer programs gain several months' worth of reading and 
        mathematics skills through summer enrichment, and students who regularly 
        attend the Teach Baltimore Summer Academy for 2 summers are \1/2\ year 
        ahead of their peers in reading skills;
Whereas the Summer Youth Program Fund in Indianapolis, Indiana, the first 
        community collaborative fund for youth programs in the United States, 
        serves as an example for other urban communities by providing summer 
        learning opportunities for young people;
Whereas thousands of students in similar programs make measurable gains in 
        academic achievement;
Whereas recent research demonstrates that most children, particularly children 
        at high risk of obesity, gain weight more rapidly when they are out of 
        school during the summer;
Whereas Summer Learning Day is designed to highlight the need for more young 
        people to be engaged in summer learning activities and to support local 
        summer programs that benefit children, families, and communities; and
Whereas a wide array of schools, public agencies, nonprofit organizations, 
        universities, museums, libraries, and summer camps in many States across 
        the United States, will celebrate annual Summer Learning Day on July 10, 
        2008: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) designates July 10, 2008, as ``National Summer Learning 
        Day'', in order to raise public awareness about the positive 
        impact of summer learning opportunities on the development and 
        educational success of the children of the United States;
            (2) urges the people of the United States to promote summer 
        learning activities, in order to send young people back to 
        school ready to learn, to support working parents and their 
        children, and to keep the children of the United States safe 
        and healthy during the summer months; and
            (3) urges communities to celebrate, with appropriate 
        ceremonies and activities, the importance of high quality 
        summer learning opportunities in the lives of young students 
        and their families.
                                 <all>
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